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  • Title: The effect of atropine on heart rate and oxygen consumption of the hypoxic fetus.
    Author: Parer JT.
    Journal: Am J Obstet Gynecol; 1984 Apr 15; 148(8):1118-22. PubMed ID: 6711648.
    Abstract:
    To determine if vagal blockade during hypoxic bradycardia improves fetal oxygenation, 10 studies were carried out on five chronically instrumented sheep after 0.8 week of gestation. At a mean maternal arterial oxygen tension of 33 +/- 4 mm Hg, the fetal heart rate decreased 20% to 137 +/- 19 bpm, and fetal oxygen consumption decreased 42% to 4.6 +/- 1.5 ml/min/kg of fetus. After 200 micrograms atropine was infused into a fetal vein, fetal heart rate increased immediately to 249 +/- 26 bpm. Fetal oxygen consumption was unchanged. Fetal heart rate increased by 18 bpm after atropine in the normoxic fetus. These studies show that there is a substantial bradycardia due to an increase in vagal activity during hypoxia in the fetus and that blockade of this activity causes a marked tachycardia but no increase in fetal oxygen uptake.
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