Fetal Behavioural Responses to Maternal Voice and Touch.

Although there is data on the spontaneous behavioural repertoire of the fetus, studies on their behavioural responses to external stimulation are scarce.The aim of the current study was to measure fetal behavioural responses in reaction to maternal voice; to maternal touch of the abdomen compared to...

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Main Authors: Viola Marx, Emese Nagy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2015-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4460088?pdf=render
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spelling doaj-1e252450b3474f118e431552ff435d982020-11-25T02:23:38ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032015-01-01106e012911810.1371/journal.pone.0129118Fetal Behavioural Responses to Maternal Voice and Touch.Viola MarxEmese NagyAlthough there is data on the spontaneous behavioural repertoire of the fetus, studies on their behavioural responses to external stimulation are scarce.The aim of the current study was to measure fetal behavioural responses in reaction to maternal voice; to maternal touch of the abdomen compared to a control condition, utilizing 3D real-time (4D) sonography. Behavioural responses of 23 fetuses (21st to 33rd week of gestation; N = 10 in the 2nd and N = 13 in the 3rd trimester) were frame-by-frame coded and analyzed in the three conditions.Results showed that fetuses displayed more arm, head, and mouth movements when the mother touched her abdomen and decreased their arm and head movements to maternal voice. Fetuses in the 3rd trimester showed increased regulatory (yawning), resting (arms crossed) and self-touch (hands touching the body) responses to the stimuli when compared to fetuses in the 2nd trimester.In summary, the results from this study suggest that fetuses selectively respond to external stimulation earlier than previously reported, fetuses actively regulated their behaviours as a response to the external stimulation, and that fetal maturation affected the emergence of these differential responses to the environment.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4460088?pdf=render
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Viola Marx
Emese Nagy
spellingShingle Viola Marx
Emese Nagy
Fetal Behavioural Responses to Maternal Voice and Touch.
PLoS ONE
author_facet Viola Marx
Emese Nagy
author_sort Viola Marx
title Fetal Behavioural Responses to Maternal Voice and Touch.
title_short Fetal Behavioural Responses to Maternal Voice and Touch.
title_full Fetal Behavioural Responses to Maternal Voice and Touch.
title_fullStr Fetal Behavioural Responses to Maternal Voice and Touch.
title_full_unstemmed Fetal Behavioural Responses to Maternal Voice and Touch.
title_sort fetal behavioural responses to maternal voice and touch.
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
series PLoS ONE
issn 1932-6203
publishDate 2015-01-01
description Although there is data on the spontaneous behavioural repertoire of the fetus, studies on their behavioural responses to external stimulation are scarce.The aim of the current study was to measure fetal behavioural responses in reaction to maternal voice; to maternal touch of the abdomen compared to a control condition, utilizing 3D real-time (4D) sonography. Behavioural responses of 23 fetuses (21st to 33rd week of gestation; N = 10 in the 2nd and N = 13 in the 3rd trimester) were frame-by-frame coded and analyzed in the three conditions.Results showed that fetuses displayed more arm, head, and mouth movements when the mother touched her abdomen and decreased their arm and head movements to maternal voice. Fetuses in the 3rd trimester showed increased regulatory (yawning), resting (arms crossed) and self-touch (hands touching the body) responses to the stimuli when compared to fetuses in the 2nd trimester.In summary, the results from this study suggest that fetuses selectively respond to external stimulation earlier than previously reported, fetuses actively regulated their behaviours as a response to the external stimulation, and that fetal maturation affected the emergence of these differential responses to the environment.
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4460088?pdf=render
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