Computerized analysis of behavior in fetuses with congenital abnormalities.

An observational study was undertaken to evaluate a computerized fetal behavior program in a clinical setting. Behavior of normal fetuses was compared with that of fetuses with a variety of congenital abnormalities. Forty-three fetuses were studied at 28-36 weeks; 26 were normal (49 recordings) and 16 had congenital abnormalities (26 recordings; ten had structural abnormalities of the central nervous system, one had Down's syndrome and five had other abnormalities). Behavior was recorded with the use of Doppler ultrasound. The duration of each recording was 60 min or more in all but two instances. The behavioral criteria studied were (1) the relative percentage of time spent in low and high fetal heart rate (FHR) variation; and (2) the percentage of time fetal activity was detected in low and high FHR variation. Fetuses with abnormalities exhibited varying patterns of behavior: only eight had patterns of FHR variation that were within the 10th and 90th centiles for normal fetuses and only one fetus exhibited a fetal activity pattern that was between the 10th and 90th centiles for the normal group. All the abnormal fetuses had a FHR pattern and/or fetal activity rate outside the 10th or 90th centiles. This study suggests that such a computerized behavioral analysis program may serve as a functional adjunct to the evaluation of a fetus with structural abnormalities.