Female fetuses are more reactive when mother eats chocolate.

Objective: The aim of our study was to analyze whether there is a gender difference in the effects of maternal chocolate ingestion (80% cocoa) on the fetus, as expressed by the fetal heart rate (FHR).

Study Design: One hundred pregnant women with uncomplicated term gestation, matched for age and parity, underwent computerized FHR recording before and after eating 30 g of 80% cocoa chocolate; 46 carried a male fetus, and 54 carried a female. Computerized cardiotocography parameters (baseline FHR in beats per minute, number of contractions/hour, fetal movements/hour, accelerations of at least 15 bpm for 15 s, episodes of high variation/min and short-term variation in ms) were expressed as the mean and SD.

The effects of different concentrations of cocoa in the chocolate intaken by the mother on fetal heart rate.

Objective: To analyze the effects of different concentrations (30% and 80%) of cocoa on fetal heart rate (FHR).

Study Design: One hundred pregnant women with uncomplicated gestation, matched for age and parity, underwent computerized FHR recording before and after the consumption of 30 g of 30% and 80% cocoa chocolate. After 1 week, those who had received 30% were shifted to 80% and vice versa to have a crossover.

How to read fetal heart rate tracings in labor: a comparison between ACOG and NICE guidelines.

The aim of this study was to assess reproducibility and clinical relevance of current guidelines on fetal heart rate interpretation in labor. Two obstetricians with comparable experience analyzed one hundred fetal heart rate tracings. One doctor made a first analysis using American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) 2009 guideline's criteria; the other used National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) 2007 guideline's criteria; subsequently they repeated the evaluation crossing the guidelines used.

The effects of maternal caffeine and chocolate intake on fetal heart rate.

Objective: The aim of our study was to analyze the effects of caffeine and chocolate (70% cocoa) on fetal heart rate (FHR).

Study Design: Fifty pregnant women with uncomplicated gestation, matched for age and parity, underwent computerized FHR recording before and after the consumption of caffeine and then, after one week, before and after 70% cocoa chocolate intake. Computerized cardiotocography (cCTG) parameters were expressed as mean and SD.

Computerized analysis of fetal heart rate in pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus, gestational hypertension, intrauterine growth restriction and premature rupture of membranes.

Objective: We aimed to compare individual fetal heart rate (FHR) indices, as determined by computer analysis of the tracing, in pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), gestational hypertension (PIH), intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and premature rupture of membranes (pPROM).

Methods: The study population consisted of 100 pregnant women affected by GDM on diet therapy, 100 pregnant women affected by GDM on insulin therapy, 100 pregnant women affected by PIH, 100 pregnant women affected by IUGR, 100 with premature rupture of membranes far from the term (pPROM) and 100 normal pregnancies matched for age, parity and gestation as controls. The 30-min FHR tracing was analyzed by computer.

Reference interval for fetal biometry in Italian population.

Objectives: To validate new references charts and equations for fetal biometry in an Italian unselected population.

Methods: A cross-sectional study involving 4896 women with singleton viable pregnancies, at Artemisia Fetal Maternal Medical Centre between May 2009 and December 2009. Each woman was scanned only once, between 14+0 and 40+0 weeks of gestation.

Computerized analysis of fetal heart rate in pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus.

Objective: We evaluated the value of computerized cardiotocography (cCTG) in pregnancies complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Purpose of study. We studied fetal heart rate (FHR) recordings from 100 pregnant women affected by GDM on diet therapy, 60 pregnant women affected by GDM on insulin therapy and 100 normal pregnant controls.

Analysis of fetal biometric measurements in the last 30 years.

Objectives: To compare fetal biometric measurements with standard growth charts for ultrasound parameters existing from the last 30 years.

Study Design: A preliminary prospective study.

Setting: Artemisia Mean Centre of Perinatal Diagnosis, Rome,Italy.

Deceleration area of fetal heart rate trace and fetal acidemia at delivery: a case-control study.

Objective: To assess the correlation between the total deceleration area of the fetal heart rate (FHR) pre-delivery trace and intrapartum fetal acid-base status in a low risk population.

Study Design: We analyzed the electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) traces of 26 pregnancies with fetuses presenting acidemia at delivery and those of thirty controls. All laboring patients had at least 1 hour of EFM without interruption.

Computerized analysis of the fetal heart rate in pregnancies complicated by preterm premature rupture of membranes (pPROM).

Objective: We aimed to show that in pregnancies complicated by preterm premature rupture of membranes (pPROM), there are alterations to the fetal heart rate pattern that can be detected by computerized analysis.

Methods: The study population consisted of 27 pregnant women with pPROM at 29-34 weeks of gestation and 33 normal pregnancies matched according to age, parity and gestation. A 30-minute fetal heart rate (FHR) tracing was analyzed by computer and umbilical artery cord blood was collected at birth.