[The kinetocardiotocogram--initial clinical experiences using the kinetocardiotocogram]

160 woman patients in whom the course of pregnancy was uneventful or pathological (intrauterine growth retardation, percentile less than 5) were investigated at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the University of Homburg/Saar between the 28th and 42nd week of pregnancy, using a newly developed cardiotocograph (HP M1350A Hewlett-Packard, Böblingen, FRG). By means of the kinetocardiotocogram (KCTG), fetal mobility (fetal movements of the whole body or of the extremities) was recorded simultaneously with the conventional recording of the fetal heart rate and uterine contractions. One of the aims in developing the KCTG was to record as far as possible all fetal movements synchronous to the recordings of heart rate and uterine contractions. To this end, the recording algorithm of the KCTG was adapted to the examination results obtained by two simultaneously operating ultrasound investigators. After the 28th week of pregnancy it was possible to record by the KCTG fetal "movement clusters" (combined body and limb movements) independent of the weight of the fetus and of amniotic fluid volume or positional anomalies, reliably and with good correlation with the results of the sonographic control investigations (r = 0.88-0.97). In cases of intrauterine growth retardation (percentile less than 5) a significantly reduced motility was observed on average as early as 13 days before delivery (p less than 0.005). It must be emphasized that, at this stage, most of the antenatal CTGs were normal. These findings indicate that KCTG can contribute to improved monitoring in high-risk pregnancies.