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Vibroacoustic-induced fetal movement: two stimuli and two methods of scoring
B S Kisilevsky1, K L Kilpatrick, J A Low
1School of Nursing, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
Objective:
To determine whether the fetal movement response elicited by vibroacoustic stimulation depends upon the vibrator and the method used to judge movement.
Methods:
Two methods of obtaining elicited fetal movement responses--maternal perceptions and ultrasound scan observations--were compared using two different vibroacoustic stimuli in 16 low-risk term pregnancies.
Results:
Analyses of response over trials showed that the percentage of agreement between ultrasound scan observations and maternal perceptions varied (52-96%) across stimuli. The mothers perceived 64% less movement when vibrator 1 was used and 14% less movement response with vibrator 2. Analyses of average movement scores across subjects showed similar results. Vibrator 1 elicited significantly fewer maternal perceptions of fetal movement compared with ultrasound scan observation (an average of 0.8/3 compared with 2.3/3 movements per subject, respectively). For vibrator 2, there were no differences in average movement scores obtained by maternal perception and ultrasound scan observation (an average of 2.4/3 versus 2.8/3, respectively).
Conclusion:
The stimulus used in vibroacoustic stimulation testing influences the reliability of maternal movement perceptions as compared with ultrasound scan observations.