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Effects of Uterine Contractility on the Fetal Cranium

Perspectives from the Past, Present, and Future

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Advances in Perinatal Medicine

Abstract

The obstetrical literature is filled with studies that examine empirical relationships between the strength of uterine contractions and the progress of labor. Furthermore, there are numerous statistical studies that present retrospective relationships between perinatal outcome and intrapartum factors such as length of labor, method of delivery, and fetal heart rates. But relatively little has been written about the direct effects of uterine contractility on the fetus. Indeed, observations have been made to demonstrate that sometimes relationships exist between uterine function and secondary measures of fetal well-being such as fetal heart rate or postpartum fetal skull molding, but the pathophysiology of such fetal responses are usually left to conjecture. This chapter examines the direct effects of uterine contractility on the fetal cranium and attempts to explain how the intrapartum assessment of these effects could help in the safe management of parturition.

In the effort to reduce cerebral trauma from compression, the detection of signs heralding imminent danger to the fetal brain would be invaluable. Unfortunately, if such signs occur, their existence has not yet been discovered, probably because techniques for monitoring parameters other than the fetal heart rate have not yet been developed.

John V. Kelly1

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Women’s Hospital, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, USA

    Timothy J. Kriewall

  2. Surgical Products Division, 3M Company, St. Paul, Minnesota, 55101, USA

    Gregg K. McPherson

Authors
  1. Timothy J. Kriewall
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  2. Gregg K. McPherson
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Aubrey Milunsky MB.B.Ch., M.R.C.P., D.C.H.  & Emanuel A. Friedman M.D.  & 

  2. Computational Mechanics Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Aubrey Milunsky MB.B.Ch., M.R.C.P., D.C.H.

  3. Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Aubrey Milunsky MB.B.Ch., M.R.C.P., D.C.H.

  4. Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Emanuel A. Friedman M.D.

  5. University of California, San Diego, USA

    Louis Gluck M.D.

  6. School of Medicine, La Jolla, California, USA

    Louis Gluck M.D.

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© 1981 Aubrey Milunsky, Emanuel A. Friedman, and Louis Gluck

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Kriewall, T.J., McPherson, G.K. (1981). Effects of Uterine Contractility on the Fetal Cranium. In: Milunsky, A., Friedman, E.A., Gluck, L. (eds) Advances in Perinatal Medicine. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4451-4_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4451-4_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-4453-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-4451-4

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