Fetal response to induced maternal emotions

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between fetal movements and acute maternal emotional changes during pregnancy. Two empirically validated feature film clips were used for the external generation of two subjectively and facially well-characterized target emotions: happiness and sadness. We simultaneously monitored separate fetal arm, leg and trunk movements by means 2 of two ultrasound apparatuses while maternal emotions were manipulated by film clip presentation. The number of fetal arm movements, but not the duration, was increased when pregnant women were being shown a happy film. Both the number and the duration of fetal arm movements decreased with the sad film presentation. Neither the presentation of happiness nor the presentation of sadness affected fetal leg or trunk movements. These findings suggest that induced emotions in pregnant women primarily affect arm movements of their fetuses, and that positive and negative emotions have the opposite effects on fetus movement.

An Attempt to Standardize Kurjak's Antenatal Neurodevelopmental Test: Osaka Consensus Statement

“…18 Even maternal emotions, like anxiety, influence the quantitative distribution of fetal behavioral states. 19 The drawback is the unspecific nature of these changes in development limiting the clinical significance for predicting later impairment, which is in agreement with findings on abnormal states in the neonate. Qualitative and quantitative changes of the state variable are nonspecific sign of neural dysfunction and poor basis for prediction of later neurological outcome.…”

“…Qualitative and quantitative changes of the state variable are nonspecific sign of neural dysfunction and poor basis for prediction of later neurological outcome. 19 State assessment can be used as an indicator of unspecific developmental delay. Qualitative assessment of GMs was underestimated for a long time due to the 'subjectivity' of method which includes the observation of fetal movements.…”

“…Qualitative assessment of GMs was underestimated for a long time due to the 'subjectivity' of method which includes the observation of fetal movements. 19 For many years, the interest of obstetricians was focused on the quantity of fetal movements which was considered as an indicator of fetal well-being. 19 Later studies have shown that count of movements is poor indicator of brain damage, mainly due to the great intra-and interindividual differences and the large overlap between normal and abnormal, which makes this method clinically useless.…”

Ultrasound Assessment of Fetal Neurobehavior in High-risk Pregnancies

“…3,23 It has been known that qualitative alteration of general movements can be observed in preterm and term newborns cerebral injury. 24,25 Their movements can be monotone, lack in complexity, are repetitive, chaotic and involve muscle contraction. 3,25 The general movements are diagnose as normal if the movements are complex, fluent, including neck, trunk and limb movements, and wax and wane in their intensity.…”

“…3,25 The general movements are diagnose as normal if the movements are complex, fluent, including neck, trunk and limb movements, and wax and wane in their intensity. 9,25 Qualitative alterations in fetal movements have been observed in several conditions, such as diabetes mellitus, intrauterine growth restriction, hypertension, threatened preterm delivery with preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM). The quality of fetal movement patterns is altered in fetuses suffering from intrauterine growth restriction.…”