Bitter Chocolate or Orange Juice for Non-reactive Non-stress Test (NST) Patterns

Dr. Sami Ulus Children's Hospital180 enrolled

Overview

There are multiple factors affecting the variability and acceleration pattern of fetal heart rate (FHR) pattern. However, fetal activity is considered as the main determinant. Any factor decreasing fetal activity causes a decrease in FHR variability. Fetal activity may be stimulated by manual manipulation, sound, light, change in maternal position and maternal ingestion of glucose. Among those, ingestion of any kind of food or juice is most frequently practiced in outpatient settings. This is not only medical but also a social routine. In this study the investigators have chosen the two most popular so-called 'fetal accelerators', chocolate and orange juice against no intervention and tried to find any usefulness of these on non-reactive NST patterns.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Masking

SINGLE

Enrollment

180

Conditions

Nonreassuring Fetal Status

Interventions

Bitter chocolate

Eligibility

Sex: FEMALEMin age: 18 YearsMax age: 45 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * singleton pregnancies at 36 to 41 completed gestational weeks that have a non-reactive NST pattern without decelerations. Exclusion Criteria: * multiple pregnancies, fetal anomaly, hypertension, intrauterine growth restriction, active labor, contractions or decelerations on NST, absence of a first or second trimester ultrasonography for accurate gestational dating, pre-gestational or gestational diabetes and known allergy to chocolate or orange

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Increase in reactivity of NST

Time frame: 30 minutes

Secondary Outcomes

Increase in the maternal fetal movement perception