Fetal venous and arterial flow velocity wave forms between eight and twenty weeks of gestation

Abstract

Our purpose was to study the nature and gestational age dependency of fetal venous Doppler flow velocity wave forms and their relationship with fetal arterial wave forms in early pregnancy. Venous and arterial Doppler recordings were performed in 262 normal singleton pregnancies according to a cross-sectional study design at 8-20 wk of gestation. A statistically significant age-dependent increase is established for the umbilical vein, ductus venosus, and inferior vena cava time-averaged velocity. Umbilical venous pulsatile flow patterns are observed up to 15 wk of gestation. The pulsatility index for veins in all three venous vessels displays a gestational age-dependent reduction. No relation can be established between the pulsatility index for veins and the pulsatility index in the descending aorta and umbilical artery. This may be explained by the fact that the pulsatility index for veins reflects cardiac ventricular preload, whereas the pulsatility index in the arterial vessels reflects downstream impedance at fetal placental level.