[Noise and pregnancy (author's transl)].

1. The response of women to aural and extra-aural effects of noise is not stronger than that of men. --2. General response of pregnant women does not differ from that of non-pregnant women or men under the impact of noise. --3. Foetal heart rate responses usually do not exceed generally known spontaneous variation of instantaneous foetal heart rate up to an equivalent permanent sound level of 90 dB (AI). Pulse noise produces startle reflex in the foetus. --4. For pregnant women in the GDR, the permissible limit in terms of equivalent permanent sound level of vocational environments has been reduced from 90 dB to 80 dB (AI), which reflects the extraordinary standards of health protection introduced for mother and child.