ART. XVIII.???An Exposition of the Signs and Symptoms of Pregnancy, with some other papers on subjects connected with Midwifery

Quickening and auscultation of fetal heart tones as estimators of the gestational interval A review

“…Literally, quickening means to come to life. The use of the word by medical and lay people was “adopted from the old and barbarous idea, that at a certain period of gestation, life was suddenly infused into the foetus.” 7 This idea was proposed by Hippocrates, who wrote that male fetuses become animated 30 days after conception, and female fetuses become animated 42 days after conception 7 . Hippocrates'belief that the fetus was animated or alive differed from other ancient Greeks who considered the fetus to be inanimate throughout gestation 7 …”

“…The social implications of this erroneous belief were reflected in the legal codes and laws of many civilized countries 7,12,13 . Examples of these laws include the following: a woman who did not experience quickening could be found guilty of feticide; 9 a convicted felon who had experienced quickening could not be executed until after she gave birth, but a pregnant woman who had not experienced quickening could be executed; 7,9,12 and the punishment for a criminal abortion was greater if it was performed after quickening had occurred 7,9,12 …”

“…The sensation of quickening is described as “resembling the tremulous motion of a little bird when held in the hand” 7 or as “a gentle flutter, like a bubble bursting in the abdomen.” 8 The sensation is subtle and may be easily confused with other bodily sensations such as intestinal peristalsis or contractions of the uterine and abdominal muscles 9,11 . A woman's ability to feel fetal movement is thought to be dependent on the size of the fetus in relation to the amount of amniotic fluid, the number and strength of the fetal movements, and the extent to which the uterus is in contact with the anterior abdominal wall 9…”

“…Although fetal heart tones were first heard in the mid 1600s, routine auscultation was not practiced until the 1800s after Mayor and Kergaradec published their observations 38 and after the stethoscope was developed 37 . Mayor first heard fetal heart tones in 1818 7,8,10,40 . His discovery was accidental; he had been listening to the maternal abdomen to hear the sounds produced by fetal movement 7,41 .…”

“…Mayor first heard fetal heart tones in 1818 7,8,10,40 . His discovery was accidental; he had been listening to the maternal abdomen to hear the sounds produced by fetal movement 7,41 . Although he was neither the first to hear the fetal heart tones or to publicize his observation, he was the first to attribute clinical significance to the finding 12 .…”