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. 2007 Nov-Dec;78(6):1788-98.
doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01099.x.

Fetal heart rate and variability: stability and prediction to developmental outcomes in early childhood

Janet A DiPietro  1 , Marc H Bornstein, Chun-Shin Hahn, Kathleen Costigan, Aristide Achy-Brou
Affiliations

Fetal heart rate and variability: stability and prediction to developmental outcomes in early childhood

Janet A DiPietro et al. Child Dev. 2007 Nov-Dec.

Abstract

Stability in cardiac indicators before birth and their utility in predicting variation in postnatal development were examined. Fetal heart rate and variability were measured longitudinally from 20 through 38 weeks gestation (n = 137) and again at age 2 (n = 79). Significant within-individual stability during the prenatal period and into childhood was demonstrated. Fetal heart rate variability at or after 28 weeks gestation and steeper developmental trajectories were significantly associated with mental and psychomotor development at 2 years (n = 82) and language ability at 2.5 years (n = 61). These data suggest that the foundations of individual differences in autonomic control originate during gestation and the developmental momentum of the fetal period continues after birth.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Mental Development Index scores at 24 months distributed by fetal heart rate/variability categories, F(3, 72) = 4.62, p < .01. Tukey HSD post hoc contrasts indicated significant differences between the slow and variable group and the slow and stable and fast and stable groups, ps < .05. The ns per group = 22, 20, 15, and 19, respectively, based on order of presentation.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Language composite Z-score at 30 months distributed by fetal heart rate/variability categories, F(3, 53) = 2.99, p <.05. Tukey HSD contrasts indicated a significant difference between the slow and variable and the fast and stable groups, p < .05. The ns per group = 12, 17, 13, and 15, respectively.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Nonparametric modeling of associations between fetal heart rate variability at 36 weeks gestation and child (a) Mental Development Index, (b) Psychomotor Development Index, and (c) language composite scores. Individual data points represent the estimated values generated by the fitted cubic smoothing spline across each individual fetal trajectory from 20 through 38 weeks gestation. Dotted lines represent fitted cubic smoothing spline, with 3 df for the sample as a group. The solid line surrounding most data points is the estimated 95% coverage region of the joint distribution of fetal predictor and child outcomes.
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