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Development of Normal Fetal Movements

The Last 15 Weeks of Gestation

  • Book
  • © 2015

Overview

Authors:
  1. Alessandra Piontelli

    1. Department of Maternal/Fetal Medicine, Clinica Mangiagalli, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

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  • Up-to-date and comprehensive description of the full range of behavioral phenomena observed during the final 15 weeks of gestation

  • Outstanding photographic material

  • Written by an author specialized in neurology, obstetrics, psychiatry, and infant-child development?

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Table of contents (12 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xi
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction

    • Alessandra Piontelli
    Pages 1-13

  3. General Movements

    • Alessandra Piontelli, Florinda Ceriani, Isabella Fabietti, Roberto Fogliani, Elisa Restelli, Alessandra Kustermann
    Pages 15-23

  4. Localized or Isolated Movements

    • Alessandra Piontelli, Florinda Ceriani, Isabella Fabietti, Roberto Fogliani, Elisa Restelli, Alessandra Kustermann
    Pages 25-32

  5. Fetal Breathing Movements and Shallow Fetal Breathing Movements

    • Alessandra Piontelli, Florinda Ceriani, Isabella Fabietti, Roberto Fogliani, Elisa Restelli, Alessandra Kustermann
    Pages 33-40

  6. Swallowing, Sucking, and Mouthing

    • Alessandra Piontelli, Florinda Ceriani, Isabella Fabietti, Roberto Fogliani, Elisa Restelli, Alessandra Kustermann
    Pages 41-51

  7. Startles, Twitches, and Clonuses

    • Alessandra Piontelli, Florinda Ceriani, Isabella Fabietti, Roberto Fogliani, Elisa Restelli, Alessandra Kustermann
    Pages 53-61

  8. Seemingly Trivial Fetal Motions: Yawning and Hiccups

    • Alessandra Piontelli, Florinda Ceriani, Isabella Fabietti, Roberto Fogliani, Elisa Restelli, Alessandra Kustermann
    Pages 63-74

  9. Fetuses: Facial Motions or Facial Expressions?

    • Alessandra Piontelli, Florinda Ceriani, Isabella Fabietti, Roberto Fogliani, Elisa Restelli, Alessandra Kustermann
    Pages 75-86

  10. Fetal Behavioral States

    • Alessandra Piontelli, Florinda Ceriani, Isabella Fabietti, Roberto Fogliani, Elisa Restelli, Alessandra Kustermann
    Pages 87-98

  11. Twin Fetuses: Facts and Late-Pregnancy Twin Myths

    • Alessandra Piontelli, Stefano Acerboni, Isabella Fabietti, Roberto Fogliani, Sarah Salmona, Laura Trespidi et al.
    Pages 99-110

  12. Fetal Sensory Abilities

    • Alessandra Piontelli, Florinda Ceriani, Isabella Fabietti, Roberto Fogliani, Elisa Restelli, Alessandra Kustermann
    Pages 111-126

  13. Conclusions

    • Alessandra Piontelli
    Pages 127-141

  14. Back Matter

    Pages 143-145
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Keywords

About this book

In the later stages of gestation, fetal functions undergo increasing change and development, preparing the fetus for the transition to its postnatal environment. Rapid maturation is witnessed in breathing, swallowing, sensory functions, sleep, and many other processes, with corresponding behavioral changes. By 35 to 40 weeks of gestation, fetuses are capable of living ex utero without support, but it is increasingly appreciated that even infants born at between 35 and 36 weeks can suffer long-term consequences. This book, which complements the author’s previous volume on development of normal fetal movements during the first 25 weeks of gestation, discusses in detail the full range of behavioral phenomena observed during the final 15 weeks of gestation, with careful analysis of their mutual relationships. A key feature is the outstanding photographic material, difficult to obtain at this late stage, and the instructive graphs that  are also included. The information provided will alert clinicians to deviations from the norm and to physiologic phenomena that can turn pathologic in infants born prematurely.​

Authors and Affiliations

  • Department of Maternal/Fetal Medicine, Clinica Mangiagalli, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, University of Milan, Milan, Italy

    Alessandra Piontelli

About the author

After graduating in Medicine and Surgery at the University of Milan, Italy, Alessandra Piontelli qualified as a specialist in Neurology and Psychiatry at the University of Parma. For more than a decade she worked at the Tavistock Clinic, London, where her responsibilities included teaching child neurology and psychiatry. In 1983 she was appointed Visiting Professor by the Department of Child Neurology and Psychiatry, University of Milan. Since 1990 she has worked at the First Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Milan, where she is involved in research into fetal and neonatal behavior and physiology and maternal behavior during pregnancy and the early post-partum period. In 2007 she was Visiting Professor at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa and, in 2011, Visiting Professor and Master in Pre-Natal and Peri-Natal Education at the University of Valencia, Spain. Her previous books include Backwards in Time: a Study in Infant Observation (Karnac Books, 1986), From Fetus to Child (Routledge, 1992), Twins: From Fetus to Child (Routledge, 2002), and Twins in the World (McMillan-Palgrave, 2008).

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Development of Normal Fetal Movements

  • Book Subtitle: The Last 15 Weeks of Gestation

  • Authors: Alessandra Piontelli

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-5373-1

  • Publisher: Springer Milano

  • eBook Packages: Medicine, Medicine (R0)

  • Copyright Information: Springer-Verlag Italia 2015

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-88-470-5372-4Published: 27 March 2015

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-88-470-3932-2Published: 01 November 2016

  • eBook ISBN: 978-88-470-5373-1Published: 13 March 2015

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XI, 145

  • Number of Illustrations: 51 b/w illustrations, 16 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Obstetrics/Perinatology/Midwifery, Neurology, Ultrasound, Pediatrics, Developmental Psychology, Behavioral Sciences

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