Maternal & Fetal Physiology Flashcards
Maternal/fetal blood flow steps (5)
- Blood comes from the mother’s uterine artery to the placenta
- From the placenta, oxygenated blood is delivered to the fetal R atrium via the umbilical vein
- From the fetal R atrium, blood goes:
a. ~50% shunts across foramen ovale into the L atrium
b. ~50% goes into the R ventricle - ~90% of blood from the R ventricle goes to the pulmonary artery and is shunted across the ductus arteriousis into the aorta
~10% goes to the fetal lungs for perfusion - After blood gets into fetal aorta and perfuses the fetus, deoxygenated blood returns to the placenta via the umbilical artery
Shunts blood around the liver
Ductus venosus
Why does most of the blood shunt around the lungs prior to birth?
-Hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction
Hole between the RA and LA
Foramen ovale
Percentage of population with patent foramen ovale
10-25%
Speed of function closure of foramen ovale
Rapidly after the first breath
Speed of anatomic closure of foramen ovale
3-12 months
Connects the pulmonary artery to the aorta
Ductus arteriosus
Functional closure of the ductus arteriosus occurs when?
Within the first few days
Complete closure of the ductus arteriosus occurs when?
Within 4-6 weeks
The ductus arteriosus is patent in ___ of the population
10%
Drugs that effect the ductus arteriosus
- PGE1 (open)
- Indomethacin (closes)
- NSAIDs (closes)
When are NSAIDs contraindicated?
During the 3rd trimester of pregnancy because they promote ductus arteriosus closure
Fetal circulation changes at birth
- At birth, the baby breathes and the lungs exapnd
- Due to increase in PaO2, blood flow to the pulmonary artery and L atrium increases, causing pressure in L atrium to increase
- Increased LA pressure causes the foramen ovale to close
- Increased aortic pressure causes the ductus arteriosus to close
Contained in fetal lungs at term
~90 mL plasma ultrafiltrate
When are neonates more likely to have difficulty breathing immediately after birth?
If their mother had a C-section rather than vaginal delivery
P50 for normal adult hemoglobin
27 mmHg
P50 for hemoglobin of a pregnant mother at term
30 mmHg
Normal P50 for fetal hemoglobin
19 mmHg
Fetal hypoxia etiologies
- Decrease in uterine blood flow
2. Any L shift of the mother’s oxygen hemoglobin dissociation curve
Causes of decrease in uterine blood flow
- Hypotension
- Uterine artery vasoconstriction (hypocapnea, vasoconstrictors)
- Uterine contractions
- Aortocaval compression
Symptoms of aortocaval compression
- Maternal hypotension
- Decreased maternal cardiac output/uterine blood flow
- Engorged epidural venous plexus (inc epidural blood volume, dec CSF volume)