Related Experiment Video

Updated: Aug 29, 2025

Author Spotlight: Advancing Labor Management Through Electromyometrial Imaging for Understanding Uterine Contractions
08:07

Author Spotlight: Advancing Labor Management Through Electromyometrial Imaging for Understanding Uterine Contractions

Published on: May 26, 2023

1.3K

Change in T2* measurements of placenta and fetal organs during Braxton Hicks contractions

Esra Abaci Turk1, Jeffrey N Stout1, Henry A Feldman2

  • 1Fetal-Neonatal Neuroimaging & Developmental Science Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

Placenta
|September 10, 2022
PubMed

Maternal-placental perfusion can be temporarily compromised by Braxton Hicks (BH) uterine contractions. Although prior studies have employed T2* changes to investigate the effect of BH contractions on placental oxygen, the effect of these contractions on the fetus has not been fully characterized. We investigated the effect of BH contractions on quantitative fetal organ T2* across gestation together with the birth information. We observed a slight but significant decrease in fetal brain and liver T2* during contractions.

Keywords:
Braxton-Hicks contractionFetal organ T2*Placental MRIPlacental T2*T2* mapping

More Related Videos

Contractility Measurements of Human Uterine Smooth Muscle to Aid Drug Development07:56

Contractility Measurements of Human Uterine Smooth Muscle to Aid Drug Development

Published on: January 26, 2018

16.7K
The 4-vessel Sampling Approach to Integrative Studies of Human Placental Physiology In Vivo12:17

The 4-vessel Sampling Approach to Integrative Studies of Human Placental Physiology In Vivo

Published on: August 2, 2017

10.8K

Related Concept Videos

Magnetic Resonance Imaging01:24

Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a noninvasive medical imaging technique based on a phenomenon of nuclear physics discovered in the 1930s, in which matter exposed to magnetic fields and radio waves was found to emit radio signals. In 1970, a physician and researcher named Raymond Damadian noticed that malignant (cancerous) tissue gave off different signals than normal body tissue. He applied for a patent for the first MRI scanning device in clinical use by the early 1980s. The early MRI...
5.8K