Cardiotocography in antenatal fetal monitoring of diabetes-complicated pregnancies

Reliable assessment of fetal health in pregnancies complicated by maternal diabetes is still challenging, but fundamental to reduce risks. Cardiotocography (CTG) is the most common tool in electronic fetal monitoring, but its utility in the management of diabetes-complicated pregnancies is still debated. Here we present some preliminary findings of a study aimed towards better defining the role of CTG in the management of pregnancies complicated by maternal diabetes by investigating the relation of CTG parameters with glycemic levels and pregnancy outcomes. A comprehensive set of standard and non-standard parameters was computed from the CTG traces collected at multiple gestational ages of 61 women with gestational diabetes, 25 with pregestational diabetes and 66 controls and related to pregnancy outcome and glucose levels. We identified an increase in the relative spectral power in the MF band and in the ternary Lempel Ziv Complexity in the diabetes-complicated pregnancies, as well as a week negative association between glucose level and signal variability. Associations with pregnancy outcomes are weak and call for further investigation.