Biomedical subjects

Janet A DiPietro

Publications and source records attributed to Janet A DiPietro.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Prenatal development of intrafetal and maternal-fetal synchrony.

Fetal and maternal data were monitored serially at 6 gestational ages from 20 to 38 weeks in 195 Peruvian fetuses. Digitized data included fetal heart rate and motor activity, as well as maternal heart rate and electrodermal conductance. Time series analysis evaluated the development of synchrony in 2 streams of fetal functioning and between mothers and fetuses. Intrafetal synchrony between heart rate and motor activity developed in an orderly fashion, with peak cross-correlation approaching an asymptote at 5 s at 28 weeks. Synchrony was not observed between fetal heart rate and maternal measures. Fetal motor activity exhibited synchrony with both maternal electrodermal and heart rate activity. Implications for revealing fundamental properties of neural development prior to birth are discussed.

Cardiotocography↗

PubMed2006

Pregnancy folklore revisited: the case of heartburn and hair.

BACKGROUND: Folklore can originate by detection of actual associations between seemingly unrelated events and perpetuated through oral tradition. The objective of this study was to determine whether a common pregnancy belief that women who experience a lot of heartburn give birth to newborns with a lot of hair is accurate. METHODS: Sixty-four pregnant women ranked the severity of their degree of heartburn during pregnancy. Independent coders rated newborn hair volume using 2 photographs of the infant's head, taken shortly after birth. RESULTS: Most (78%) women reported some degree of heartburn. Symptom severity was unrelated to fetal sex and maternal characteristics including parity, age, or weight. The simple linear relationship between heartburn severity and hair volume was significant r(s)(62) = 0.40, p < 0.001. Categorical analysis by severity score and hair ranking revealed a similar association (chi(2)= 23.93, p < 0.05). Most (23/28) women who reported moderate or severe heartburn gave birth to babies with average or above average amounts of hair, and conversely, most (10/12) women reporting no heartburn had babies with less than average or no hair. CONCLUSIONS: Contrary to expectations, it appears that an association between heartburn severity during pregnancy and newborn hair does exist. We propose a shared biologic mechanism involving a dual role of pregnancy hormones in both the relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter and the modulation of fetal hair growth.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Maternal psychophysiological change during the second half of gestation.

This study investigated the trajectory of physiological and psychological functioning during the second half of pregnancy and compared responsiveness to a laboratory stressor between pregnant and non-pregnant women. Monitoring of 137 pregnant women at 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, and 38 weeks of pregnancy included measures of heart period (HP), heart period variability (HPV), skin conductance (SCL), respiratory period (RP), respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA), and self-report of mood disturbance. HP and RSA declined during this period; SCL and mood disturbance increased. Parity was a significant moderator. HP and SCL responsiveness to the Stroop color-word task was assessed twice in pregnant participants and compared to a sample of 27 non-pregnant women. Physiologic responsiveness was reduced in pregnant women. Pregnant women perceived the Stroop to be more difficult, but performance was unaffected. Despite buffered responsivity to stressful stimuli during pregnancy, advancing gestation is associated with escalating sympathetic tone and declining parasympathetic tone.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2005

Neurobehavioral assessment before birth.

The complexities of neurobehavioral assessment of the fetus, which can be neither directly viewed nor manipulated, cannot be understated. Impetus to develop methods for measuring fetal neurobehavioral development has been provided by the recognition that individual differences in neurobehavioral functioning do not originate with birth and acceptance of the key contribution of the antenatal period to postnatal life. Research has centered around four aspects of fetal functioning: heart rate, motor activity, behavioral state, and responsivity to stimulation. Longitudinal studies have revealed that the developmental trajectories of these characteristics parallel the developing nervous system, detected a transitional period between 28 and 32 weeks gestation, and established within-fetal stability during the second half of gestation. Despite the promise of fetal stimulation and habituation paradigms as measures of neural functioning, significant safety and ethical concerns exist. Construction of a unified fetal neurobehavioral scale is premature until a sufficient degree of normative data is available and the predictive validity of specific aspects of fetal neurobehavior to child developmental outcomes is better established.

Brain↗

PubMed2004

Fetal neurobehavioral development: a tale of two cities.

Longitudinal neurobehavioral development was examined in 237 fetuses of low-risk pregnancies from 2 distinct populations--Baltimore, Maryland, and Lima. Peru--at 20, 24, 28, 32, 36, and 38 weeks gestation. Data were based on digitized Doppler-based fetal heart rate (FHR) and fetal movement (FM). In both groups. FHR declined while variability, episodic accelerations, and FM-FHR coupling increased, with discontinuities evident between 28 and 32 weeks gestation. Fetuses in Lima had higher FHR and lower variability, accelerations, and FM-FHR coupling. Declines in trajectories were typically observed 1 month sooner in Lima, which magnified these disparities. Motor activity differences were less consistent. No sex differences in fetal neurobehaviors were detected. It is concluded that population factors can influence the developmental niche of the fetus.

Anthropometry↗

PubMed2003

Fetal response to induced maternal stress.

BACKGROUND: Despite increased attention to the role of antenatal maternal psychological stress in postnatal development, remarkably little information is available on the nature of the intrauterine fetal response to maternal psychological state. AIMS: To determine whether: (1) the fetus responds to maternal stress; (2) the fetal response changes over gestation; and (3) individual maternal and fetal response patterns are stable over time. STUDY DESIGN: Induced maternal stress at 24 and 36 weeks gestational age using the Stroop color-word task. SUBJECTS: 137 low-risk pregnant women with normally developing fetuses. OUTCOME MEASURES: Maternal (heart rate and skin conductance) and fetal (heart rate, heart rate variability, and motor activity) responses. RESULTS: The manipulation evoked maternal sympathetic activation, which declined in magnitude from 24 to 36 weeks gestation. Fetuses responded to the manipulation with increased variability in heart rate (F(2,256)=7.80, p<0.001) and suppression of motor activity (F(2,216)=15.47, p<0.001). The magnitude of the fetal response increased over gestation. The degree of maternal reactivity to and recovery from the stressor were correlated over time (r's=0.53 and 0.60 for heart rate; r's=0.31 and 0.36 for skin conductance; p's<0.001). There was moderate stability in the magnitude of the fetal motor response (r=0.25, p<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Demonstration of fetal responses to maternal sympathetic activation evoked by a benign cognitive stressor suggests that fetal neurobehavioral regulation is routinely disrupted by maternal environmental intrusions. There is no evidence of a protective effect of diminished maternal sensitivity to stress on the fetus. Individual stability in the magnitude of the evoked maternal physiologic and psychological responses from 24 to 36 weeks and stability in the fetal motor response implies that characteristic response patterns emerge in utero. We propose that autonomic development is partially entrained through these processes.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

What does fetal movement predict about behavior during the first two years of life?

This study evaluated whether motor activity prior to birth is predictive of motor behavior and temperament in neonates, infants, and toddlers. Three measures of fetal motor activity (activity level, amplitude, and number of movements) were collected at 24, 30, and 36 weeks of gestation in 52 healthy fetuses using Doppler-based actography. Postnatal data collection included a neurobehavioral assessment at 2-weeks postpartum (n = 41), and laboratory-based behavioral observations at 1 and 2 years of age (ns = 35). Individual stability in motor activity was present during gestation. Predictive relations between fetal movement and neonatal behavior were inconsistent; significant but small positive associations were detected between motor behavior at 36 weeks and neonatal irritability and motor development. Fetal activity level at 36 weeks was positively associated with observed 1-year activity level for boys (but inversely related for girls) and maternal report of activity level at 2 years. Fetal movement was consistently and negatively predictive of distress to limitations at 1 year and behavioral inhibition at 2 years, accounting for 21 to 43% of the variance in these measures. Intrafetal variability in motor behavior makes this a relatively unstable metric for prediction to neonatal maturational outcomes, which are relatively constrained, but fetal motor activity appears to predict temperament attributes related to regulatory behaviors in early childhood.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Fetal state concordance predicts infant state regulation.

Fetal state organization reflects the development of the central nervous system but may also portend individual differences in postnatal state organization. The goal of the present study was to determine the extent to which fetal state regulation, defined as the percentage of an observation period in which fetal heart rate and movement concordance was displayed, is associated with neonatal state regulation. Neonatal state regulation was evaluated through a standard neurobehavioral assessment at 2 weeks postpartum. Biobehavioral concordance was measured in 52 normally developing fetuses at 24, 30 and 36 weeks gestation using an actocardiograph; the neonatal assessment was administered to 41 of these as infants. Intrafetal stability in biobehavioral concordance did not emerge prior to 36 weeks. Fetuses with higher concordance at 36 weeks were infants that displayed better state regulation during the exam, including more alertness and orientation (r(35)=0.29), less cost of maintaining attention (r=0.36), less irritability (r=-0.41), better regulatory capacity (r=0.47), a greater range of available states (r=0.34), and were significantly more likely to maintain control during the most aversive portions of the exam F(1,31)=4.63, p<0.05). These results support fetal state as a stable individual attribute that is conserved across the prenatal and neonatal periods.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Maternal stress and affect influence fetal neurobehavioral development.

The authors investigated the association between maternal psychological and fetal neurobehavioral functioning. Data were provided by 52 maternal-fetal pairs at 24, 30, and 36 weeks gestation. The relations between maternal measures and fetal heart rate, variability, and motor activity were statistically modeled. Fetuses of women who were more affectively intense, appraised their lives as more stressful, and reported more frequent pregnancy-specific hassles were more active across gestation. Fetuses of women who perceived their pregnancy to be more intensely and frequently uplifting and had positive emotional valence toward pregnancy were less active. Associations with fetal heart-rate measures were detected at 36 weeks gestation. These data provide evidence for proximal effects of maternal psychological functioning on fetal neurobehavior.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Maternal psychological distress during pregnancy in relation to child development at age two.

Concern exists that a constellation of negative maternal emotions during pregnancy generates persistent negative consequences for child development. Maternal reports of anxiety, pregnancy-specific and nonspecific stress, and depressive symptoms were collected during mid-pregnancy and at 6 weeks and 24 months after birth in a sample of healthy women with low risk pregnancies. Developmental assessment and cardiac vagal tone monitoring were administered to 94 children at age 2. Higher levels of prenatal anxiety, nonspecific stress, and depressive symptoms were associated with more advanced motor development in children after postnatal control for each psychological measure; anxiety and depression were also significantly and positively associated with mental development. Mild to moderate levels of psychological distress may enhance fetal maturation in healthy populations.

Adult↗