Acute effects of smoking on fetal heart‐rate variability

Abstract
Summary. Smoking a standard filter cigarette caused an acute decrease both in the interval index and the differential index of fetal heart‐rate variability in eight healthy pregnant women at term. The maximum effect occurred 5–10 min after smoking and the indices returned to the presmoking level in 20 min. We suggest that smoking has a dual effect on the fetus: one being narcotic, leading to a lowered interval index, and the other hypoxic, leading to a lowered differential index.

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