Fetal sex has been associated with different development trajectories that cause structural and functional differences between the sexes throughout gestation. Fetal magnetocardiography (fMCG) recordings from 123 participants (64 females and 59 males; one recording/participant) from a database consisting of low-risk pregnant women were analyzed to explore and compare fetal development trajectories of both sexes. The gestational age of the recordings ranged from 28 to 38 weeks. Linear metrics in both the time and frequency domains were applied to study fetal heart rate variability (fHRV) measures that reveal the dynamics of short- and long-term variability. Rates of linear change with GA in these metrics were analyzed using general linear model regressions with assessments for significantly different variances and GA regression slopes between the sexes. The fetal sexes were well balanced for GA and sleep state. None of the fHRV measures analyzed exhibited significant variance heterogeneity between the sexes, and none of them exhibited a significant sex-by-GA interaction. The absence of a statistically significant sex-by-GA interaction on all parameters resulted in none of the regression slope estimates being significantly different between the sexes. With high-precision fMCG recordings, we were able to explore the variation in fHRV parameters as it relates to fetal sex. The fMCG-based fHRV parameters did not show any significant difference in rates of change with gestational age between sexes. This study provides a framework for understanding normal development of the fetal autonomic nervous system, especially in the context of fetal sex.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s43032-023-01384-9 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Predictors of inter-individual variation in nausea and vomiting in pregnancy in two samples of women attending a pregnancy clinic.
Midwifery
December 2024
Department of Philosophy and History of Science, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
Problem: The aetiology of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy is still not well understood.
Background: Previous research suggests that its incidence and severity are influenced by many different factors, including demographic, lifestyle and psychosocial factors.
Aim: This study aimed to test the effect of multiple factors (use of combined oral contraception (COC) on meeting the father, sex of the foetus, age when pregnant, parity, education, life standard/income, smoking before pregnancy and BMI) on levels of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy.
Outcomes of Extremely Preterm Infants Exposed to Prolonged Prelabor Rupture of Membranes before 24 Weeks of Gestation.
Am J Obstet Gynecol
January 2025
Department of Pediatrics, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC.
Background: Preterm prelabor rupture of membranes (PPROM) before or around the limit of fetal viability is associated with serious maternal and neonatal complications including chorioamnionitis, extremely preterm birth, and pulmonary hypoplasia.
Objectives: To describe contemporary outcomes of extremely preterm infants born after prolonged periviable PPROM, and to identify perinatal factors associated with survival and survival without severe neurodevelopmental impairment (NDI).
Study Design: Among actively treated infants born alive at <27 weeks' gestational age (GA) in centers of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network from 2012 to 2018, the outcomes of survival and survival without severe NDI at 22-26 months' corrected age were compared between infants exposed to prolonged (≥120 hours) periviable (<24 weeks' GA) PPROM and unexposed infants born after rupture of membranes ≤18 hours before delivery or at delivery, adjusting for birth GA, sex, multiple gestation, antenatal steroids, small for gestational age (SGA), insurance, and center.
Epithelial and mesenchymal compartments of the developing bladder and urethra display spatially distinct gene expression patterns.
Dev Biol
January 2025
Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine (iBRIC-inStem), GKVK-Post, Bellary Road, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560065, India. Electronic address:
Article Synopsis
- The lower urinary tract, consisting of the bladder and urethra, develops from the cloaca, with the bladder forming from the urogenital sinus and the urethra extending into the genital tubercle.
- Engineering a fully functional bladder lining is challenging, and the urethral epithelium's immune roles are under-researched, highlighting the need for a better understanding of the epithelial and mesenchymal interactions that drive development.
- This study identified specific genes involved in bladder and urethra development in mice, revealing differences in gene expression patterns related to sex and offering insights for future regenerative therapies.
Effectiveness of prenatal ultrasound in fetal sex identification: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
J Ultrasound
January 2025
Department of Medical Imaging, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the accuracy and success rate of ultrasound in determining fetal sex. A search was conducted on Medline, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases, and the reference lists of selected studies were also reviewed. Meta-analyses were performed using Revman 5.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF[Management of a fetus suspected of differences of sex development (DSD).].
Gynecol Obstet Fertil Senol
January 2025
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Hôpital Saint Joseph, Marseille, France; Image2 center, Marseille, France. Electronic address:
The management of a fetus suspected of having a variation in genital development is a complex situation. In cases of complete discordance or an unusual appearance of the external genitalia (EG), management always begins with a diagnostic morphological ultrasound. This ultrasound aims to provide detailed imaging of the EG and internal genitalia (IG), focusing on identifying the presence of Müllerian derivatives and detecting any associated malformations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!