Fetal breathing movements in pregnancies complicated by pregestational diabetes mellitus - Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia

PURPOSE: to analyze the pattern of fetal breathing movements (FBM) in diabetic pregnant women in the third trimester of pregnancy. METHODS: sixteen pregestational diabetic and 16 nondiabetic (control group) pregnant subjects were included fulfilling the following criteria: singleton, between 36-40 weeks of gestation, absence of other maternal diseases and absence of fetal anomalies. The fetal biophysical profile (FBP) was performed to evaluate the following parameters: fetal heart rate, FBM, fetal body movements, fetal tone and amniotic fluid index. The FBM was evaluated for 30 minutes, period when the examination was integrally recorded in VHS video for posterior analysis of the number of FBM episodes, the duration of each episode and the fetal breathing movements index (BMI). The BMI was calculated by the formula: (interval of time with FBM/total time of observation) x 100. At the beginning and in the end of the FBP maternal glucose levels were checked. The results were analyzed by the Mann-Whitney U-test and the Fisher exact test, adopting a level of significance of 5%. RESULTS: the glucose levels demonstrated significantly superior average in the diabetic group (113.3±35.3 g/dL) in relation to the normal group (78.2±14.8 g/dL, p<0.001). The average of the amniotic fluid index was higher in the group of the diabetic cases (15.5±6.4 cm) when compared with controls (10.6±2.0 cm; p=0.01). The average of the number of FBM episodes was superior in the diabetic ones (22.6±4.4) in relation to controls (14.8±2.3; p<0.0001). The average of the BMI in the diabetic patients (54.6±14.8%) was significantly higher than that in the control group (30.5±7.4%, p<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: the elevated blood glucose levels can be associated with a different pattern in the FBM of diabetic mothers. The use of this parameter of the FBP, in the obstetric practice, must be considered with concern in diabetic pregnancies.