Ultrasound observations of subtle movements: a pilot study comparing foetuses of smoking and nonsmoking mothers
Open accessAbstract
Aim: One way to assess foetal health of smokers is to ask mothers to count perceived movements, an unreliable method hiding differences in prenatal development. The aim of this pilot study was to assess subtle foetal movements in ultrasound scans and establish whether they differ in foetuses of mothers who smoked and nonsmoking mothers. Methods: This longitudinal pilot study recruited twenty mothers (16 nonsmoking; 4 smoking) scanned four times from 24 to 36 weeks gestation (80 ultrasound scans). Two types of fine‐grained movements were coded offline and analysed using a Poisson log‐linear mixed model. Results: Foetuses of smoking mothers showed a significantly higher rate of mouth movements compared to foetuses of nonsmoking mothers (p = 0.02), after controlling for maternal stress and depression. As pregnancy progressed, these differences between the smoking and nonsmoking groups widened. Differences between the two groups in the rate of foetal facial self‐touch remained constant as pregnancy progressed and were borderline significant (p = 0.07). Conclusion: Rates of foetal mouth movement and facial self‐touch differ significantly between smokers and nonsmokers. A larger study is needed to confirm these results and to investigate specific effects, including the interaction of maternal stress and smoking. Additionally, the feasibility of this technique for clinical practice should be assessed.
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Fetuses of smokers show more maladaptive responses to the non-stress test, lower heart rate variability, more mouth and self-touch movements, and poorer recognition of maternal voice than fetuses of nonsmokers.
“found greater rates of maladaptive response to the non-stress test (a clinical index of fetal well-being)(96), including reduced heart rate variability, increased mouth and self-touch movements, and impaired recognition of maternal voice in fetuses of smokers compared with those of nonsmokers.”
From Developmental toxicity of nicotine: A transdisciplinary synthesis and implications for emerging tobacco products (2017) · cites this paper as [99]
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- Authors
- Reissland, N., Francis, B., Kumarendran, K., & Mason, J.
- Affiliations
- Durham University (GB)
- Lancaster University (GB)
- James Cook University Hospital (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Reissland, Nadja
- Venue
- Acta Paediatrica
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2015-04-22
- Volume
- 104
- Issue
- 6
- Pages
- 596-603
- ISSN
- 0365-1436 (ISSN-L)
- 0803-5253
- 1651-2227
- PMC
- PMC4654233
- OpenAlex
- W2162455854
- Cited by
- 28
- References
- 33
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 4 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 3.99
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Acta Paediatrica (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Durham Research Online (Durham University) (acceptedVersion, other-oa)
- Durham Research Online (Durham University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- Lancaster EPrints (Lancaster University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Prenatal Substance Exposure Effects
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Infant Development and Preterm Care
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Fetal and Pediatric Neurological Disorders
- Keywords
- maternal smoking, prenatal development, maternal stress, maternal depression, pregnancy progression
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Female, Fetal Movement, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Pilot Projects, Pregnancy, Smoking, Ultrasonography, Prenatal, Young Adult
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