Effects of external physical stimulation on fetuses near term

Measurements were made in 17 healthy pregnant women between 36 and 42 weeks' gestational age 90 minutes before and after a standard physical stimulus. The mean fetal heart rate was 138 +/- 0.4 bpm; the median value of the 5-minute standard deviation of successive heartbeat intervals was 30.3 msec, and the percentage of time spent making gross fetal body movements was 11.1% +/- 0.4%. These measurements did not change following stimulation of fetuses. Fetal breathing movements diminished over the 180-minute observation period but did not appear to be changed by fetal stimulation. During studies, periodic increases separated by periodic decreases in fetal heart rate, fetal heart rate variability, gross fetal body movements, and fetal breathing movements were measured, and these changes did not seem to be related to external stimulation of fetuses. Periodic changes in these measurements may have been related to underlying patterns of fetal behavior but were not usually influenced by external physical stimulation of fetuses.