The relationship between patterns of fetal breathing movements and the development of central nervous system

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The possibility of the assessment of functional maturation of human fetal lung was investigated in this study through the analysis of fetal breathing movements (FBM) by real time ultrasonic B-scanner. The relationship between the frequencies of the various durations of FBM and the age of gestation was studied in 15 normal pregnant women. The frequency of successive FMB with a duration of 【ltoreg】10 sec. decreased sigificantly from 25 to 32 weeks of gestation. The frequency of succssive FBM lasted for 【gtoreg】30 sec. showd a significant increase at the same age. An intimate correlation was demonstrated between the the freqency of FBM lasted for 10 【gtoreg】30 sec., the number of fetal heart rate accelerations per hour and the value of long term valiavility. These results suggest that a prolongation of the duration of successive FBM fo the fetus is related to the functional development of the central nervus system.The pattern of FBM classified into 3 types by the depth, irregularity and the duration of FBM in 72 pregnant women who eventually underwent preterm deliveries. The incidence of neonatal respiratory disturbances including RDS decreased sigificantly with a maturation of FBM pattern. From these results showed that the analysis of FBM could contibute to the prenatal evaluation of the functional maturity of human fetal lung.