Inappropriate fetal bradycardia.

Intrauterine life demands unique respiratory and nutrient mechanisms, and it seems reasonable that some cardiorespiratory responses developed for later extrauterine life would not necessarily be entirely appropriate for the fetal period. In other words, a human fetus may not always be acting in its own best interest when it responds to intrauterine stress with what are appropriate extrauterine responses, such as gasping or the baroreflex (bradycardia). The detrimental effects of in utero gasping of meconium are well known, but the potentially harmful effects of inappropriate fetal bradycardia are little appreciated. A review of this condition is presented.