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The Association between Uterine Electrical Activity and Labor Progress: a Systematic Review


Santosh N Vasist, Dr. Parvati Bhat, Dr. Shrutin Ulman and Dr. Harishchandra Hebbar
Abstract

Prolonged or arrested progress of labor is one of the major contributors for non-elective cesarean deliveries. Electrical activity in the myometrium of the uterus muscle is widely accepted to be associated with uterine contractions. The analysis of these electrical signals (called Electrohysterography or EHG) can reveal crucial information regarding uterine activity, which could provide an early indication of labor dystocia. The review is a systematic search of literature using PubMed and EMBASE database. The objective of this review was to identify the parameters of the EHG signal that can possibly predict prolonged or arrested progress of labor and to structure the current knowledge of EHG and labor progress. This article, to our knowledge, is the first review article which attempts at evaluating various EHG parameters and their association with dystocia. The review suggests; the propagation patterns of contractions and its frequency analysis among others could be analyzed from EHG signals. EHG has been shown to estimate the spatio-temporal evolution of a contraction, however it fails in predicting arrested progress of labor. Frequency analysis and energy distribution patterns has been partially successful in predicting arrested progress of labor. Synchronization of uterine contractions could be a potential predictor, but needs more studies to confirm the same.

Volume 12 | 03-Special Issue

Pages: 923-926

DOI: 10.5373/JARDCS/V12SP3/20201335