Umbilical artery flow velocity waveforms in labour |
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| Authors: | F M FAIRLIE Senior Registrar G D LANG Senior Lecturer C D SHELDON |
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| Institution: | Glasgow Royal Maternity Hospital;Leicester Royal Infirmary;Department of Medical Physics, Gartnavel General Hospital, Glasgow |
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| Abstract: | Summary. Doppler signals were recorded from the umbilical arteries in 103 women during labour. The pulsatility index (PI) did not alter with progress in labour. During uterine contractions the PI showed a change only if there was a deceleration in the fetal heart rate. Low birthweight (<10th centile) and delivery by caesarean section for fetal distress were significantly more frequent in patients with abnormal PI values (defined as >2 SD above the mean in normal labours). Fetal scalp blood pH was measured in 24 patients. The PI was abnormal in only one case, but none of the 24 had a pH <7·20. |
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