4D ultrasound study of fetal movement early in the second trimester of pregnancy
-
Suraphan Sajapala
Abstract
Aim:
To assess the frequency of fetal movement and reproducibility of fetal movement counting in normal singleton pregnancies early in the second trimester using four-dimensional (4D) ultrasound.
Methods:
Twenty-nine singleton pregnancies were studied for 15 min employing 4D ultrasound at 14–16 (19 cases) and 17–19 (10 cases) weeks of gestation. The frequencies of eight fetal movements (head anteflexion, head retroflexion, body rotation, hand to face movement, general movement, isolated arm movement, isolated leg movement and mouthing movement) were evaluated.
Results:
The most frequent fetal movements were isolated arm movements at 14–16 and 17–19 weeks’ gestation. There was a significant difference only in the frequency of mouthing movement between 14–16 and 17–19 weeks’ gestation (P<0.05). All fetal movements showed intra- and inter-class correlation coefficients greater than 0.87, with good intra- and inter-observer agreements.
Conclusion:
The difference in the frequency of mouthing movement at 14–16 and 17–19 weeks’ gestation may be due to increasing fetal swallowing because of the increasing amniotic fluid early in the second trimester of pregnancy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on the reproducibility assessment of fetal movement counting using 4D ultrasound. However, the data and their interpretation in the present study should be taken with some degree of caution because of the small number of subjects studied. Further studies involving a larger sample size are needed to assess the reproducibility of fetal movement counting using 4D ultrasound.
Acknowledgments
The work reported in this paper was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for scientific Research on Innovative Areas “Constructive Developmental Science” (No.24119004) from The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan.
Author’s statement
Conflict of interest statement: Authors state no conflict of interest.
Material and methods: Informed consent: Informed consent has been obtained from all individuals included in this study.
Ethical approval: The research related to human subject use has complied with all the relevant national regulations, and institutional policies, and is in accordance with the tenets of the Helsinki Declaration, and has been approved by the authors’ institutional review board or equivalent committee.
References
[1] de Vries JIP, Visser GHA, Prechtl HFR. The emergence of fetal behaviour. I. Qualitative aspects. Early Hum Dev. 1982;7:301–22.10.1016/0378-3782(82)90033-0Search in Google Scholar
[2] de Vries JIP, Visser GHA, Prechtl HFR. The emergence of fetal behaviour. II. Quantitative aspects. Early Hum Dev. 1985;12:99–120.10.1016/0378-3782(85)90174-4Search in Google Scholar
[3] Hata T, Dai SY, Marumo G. Ultrasound for evaluation of fetal neurobehavioural development: from 2-D to 4-D ultrasound. Inf Child Dev. 2010;19:99–118.10.1002/icd.659Search in Google Scholar
[4] Kuno A, Akiyama M, Yamashiro C, Tanaka H, Yanagihara T, Hata T. Three-dimensional sonographic assessment of fetal behavior in the early second trimester of pregnancy. J Ultrasound Med. 2001;20:1271–5.10.7863/jum.2001.20.12.1271Search in Google Scholar
[5] Kurjak A, Azumendi G, Vecek N, Kupesic S, Solak M, Varga D, et al. Fetal hand movements and facial expression in normal pregnancy studied by four-dimensional sonography. J Perinat Med. 2003;31:496–508.10.1515/JPM.2003.076Search in Google Scholar
[6] Yigiter AB, Kavak ZN. Normal standards of fetal behavior assessed by four-dimensional sonography. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med. 2006;19:707–21.10.1080/14767050600924129Search in Google Scholar
[7] Kurjak A, Andonotopo W, Hafner T, Salihagic-Kadic A, Stanojevic M, Azumendi G, et al. Normal standards for fetal neurobehavioral developments – longitudinal quantification by four-dimensional sonography. J Perinat Med. 2006;34: 56–65.10.1515/JPM.2006.007Search in Google Scholar
[8] Lebit FD, Vladareanu R. The role of 4D ultrasound in the assessment of fetal behavior. Maedica (Buchar). 2011;6: 120–7.Search in Google Scholar
[9] Bland JM, Altman DG. Statistical methods for assessing agreement between two methods of clinical measurement. Lancet. 1986;1:307–10.10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2009.10.001Search in Google Scholar
[10] Tuck SM. Ultrasound monitoring of fetal behaviour. Ultrasound Med Biol. 1986;12:307–17.10.1016/0301-5629(86)90340-6Search in Google Scholar
[11] Cunningham FG, Leveno KJ, Bloom SL, Spong CY, Dashe JS, Hoffman BL, et al. Amniotic fluid. Williams Obstetrics, 24th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2014. p. 231–39.Search in Google Scholar
[12] Reissland N, Austen JM, Hanaoka U, AboEllail MAM, Uematsu R, Hata T. The potential use of the Fetal Observable Movement System in clinical practice. Donald School J Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol. 2015;9:426–33.10.5005/jp-journals-10009-1430Search in Google Scholar
©2017 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- 3D/4D Sonography
- Advantages of 3D ultrasound in the assessment of fetal abnormalities
- Diagnosis of fetal syndromes by three- and four-dimensional ultrasound: is there any improvement?
- Three-dimensional ultrasound for prenatal assessment of conjoined twins: additional advantages?
- Three dimensional power Doppler of the placenta and its clinical applications
- 3D power Doppler in the evaluation of abnormally invasive placenta
- 4D assessment of fetal brain function in diabetic patients
- Multicentric studies of the fetal neurobehavior by KANET test
- Fetal face as important indicator of fetal brain function
- 4D ultrasound study of fetal movement early in the second trimester of pregnancy
- Preimplantation 3D ultrasound: current uses and challenges
- 3D and 4D studies from human reproduction to perinatal medicine
- Congress Calendar
- Congress Calendar
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- 3D/4D Sonography
- Advantages of 3D ultrasound in the assessment of fetal abnormalities
- Diagnosis of fetal syndromes by three- and four-dimensional ultrasound: is there any improvement?
- Three-dimensional ultrasound for prenatal assessment of conjoined twins: additional advantages?
- Three dimensional power Doppler of the placenta and its clinical applications
- 3D power Doppler in the evaluation of abnormally invasive placenta
- 4D assessment of fetal brain function in diabetic patients
- Multicentric studies of the fetal neurobehavior by KANET test
- Fetal face as important indicator of fetal brain function
- 4D ultrasound study of fetal movement early in the second trimester of pregnancy
- Preimplantation 3D ultrasound: current uses and challenges
- 3D and 4D studies from human reproduction to perinatal medicine
- Congress Calendar
- Congress Calendar
