The Development of Fetal Behaviors and Their Relationship to Neonatal Behavioral Organization

Abstract

Neonatal behaviors described by Als were observed in the fetus, and the relationship of these fetal motor behaviors to neonatal behavioral organization was investigated. A convenience sample of three low-risk women and their fetuses was identified early in pregnancy and followed through birth. Ultrasound imagings of these fetuses were videotaped at 12, 14, and 16 weeks of gestation, and the Assessment of Preterm Infant Behaviors (APIB) was administered at 42 weeks corrected age. Of the 20 neonatal behaviors described by Als and selected for coding the fetus, 80% were observed at 12 weeks, 70% at 14 weeks, and 40% at 16 weeks of gestation. At 16 weeks, 87-99 percent of the behaviors scored were those considered regulatory by Als and therefore suggestive of come fetal behavioral organization at the gestational age for these subjects. No apparent relationship existed between early fetal movement in terms of the frequency and duration of the behaviors described by Als and neonatal behavioral organization as measured by the APIB. Results suggest that the neonatal behaviors by Als can be used to described fetal movement, but their frequency and duration may not be a sufficient measure of fetal organization.