STRAIN UTEROGRAPHY IN LABOUR

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Abstract
Summary: Multi‐strain measurements of uterine contractions were made on 36 women at 36 to 42 weeks of pregnancy. The tracings obtained supported the existence of one dominant pacemaker area in the fundal region of the uterus and indicated that the contractile wave travelled in a downward direction with an average speed of 6 cm/second. The analysis of all normal labours showed that strain of the longitudinal muscle fibres changed from extension in the fundal region of the uterus to compression in its lower part, through a local zero strain in a narrow zone below the umbilicus. Intensity of the uterine contractions reached 6 per cent in extension and −2 per cent in compression. Information about the number of peak contractions, the frequency of contractions and the tonus of the myometrium during relaxation are of importance in the evaluation of uterine dysfunction.

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