Work

Fetal and Neonatal Heart Rate Trends in Preterm Delivery: A Clinical Study from the Week before to the Week after Birth

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Objective: This study aimed to explore the fetal heart rate trend in the week before birth, the transition from fetal to neonatal heart rate, and the neonatal heart rate trend in the week after birth in preterm neonates admitted to a tertiary care hospital, considering maternal and neonatal factors. Study Design: A retrospective cohort study was conducted, including neonates born between 24 and 34 weeks of gestation. Baseline heart rate, average deceleration capacity, standard deviation, skewness, and sample entropy were assessed using interrupted time series and difference-in-differences analyses. Subgroup analyses were performed according to gestational age at birth, sex, birth weight, mode of delivery, Apgar score at 5 minutes, umbilical cord pH, and neonatal medication. Results: < 0.05). Subgroup analyses revealed that delivery mode, medication, and birth weight modulated these trends. Conclusion: This study provides unique insights into heart rate frequency and variability trends during the period around preterm birth. It highlights the dynamic physiological adaptation that occurs during the transition from intrauterine to extrauterine life in preterm infants and may help inform future research on fetal and neonatal monitoring and clinical management. Key Points: · Heart rate frequency and variability dynamics were assessed around preterm birth in a NICU cohort.. · After birth, heart rate frequency increased while variability measures decreased.. · Heart rate frequency and variability differed by gestational age, birth weight, medication, and delivery mode..

Source: American Journal of Perinatology

DOI: 10.1055/a-2806-2923