Pregnancy state before the onset of labor: a holistic mechanical perspective

• Tipo: Artigo em Revista Científica Internacional
• Data: 2024

Autores

Fidalgo, DS (Autor) Outra; Renato Natal Jorge (Autor) FEUP; Parente, MPL (Autor) Outra; Louwagie, EM (Autor) Outra; Malanowska, E (Autor) Outra; Myers, KM (Autor) Outra; Oliveira, DA (Autor) Outra

Revista

Título: Biomechanics and Modeling in Mechanobiology

Vol. 23

Páginas: 1531-1550

ISSN: 1617-7959

Editora: Springer Nature

Indexação

ISI Web of Knowledge - 0 Citações

Scopus - 0 Citações

Outras Informações

ID Authenticus: P-010-EZW

DOI: 10.1007/s10237-024-01853-3

Abstract (EN): Successful pregnancy highly depends on the complex interaction between the uterine body, cervix, and fetal membrane. This interaction is synchronized, usually following a specific sequence in normal vaginal deliveries: (1) cervical ripening, (2) uterine contractions, and (3) rupture of fetal membrane. The complex interaction between the cervix, fetal membrane, and uterine contractions before the onset of labor is investigated using a complete third-trimester gravid model of the uterus, cervix, fetal membrane, and abdomen. Through a series of numerical simulations, we investigate the mechanical impact of (i) initial cervical shape, (ii) cervical stiffness, (iii) cervical contractions, and (iv) intrauterine pressure. The findings of this work reveal several key observations: (i) maximum principal stress values in the cervix decrease in more dilated, shorter, and softer cervices; (ii) reduced cervical stiffness produces increased cervical dilation, larger cervical opening, and decreased cervical length; (iii) the initial cervical shape impacts final cervical dimensions; (iv) cervical contractions increase the maximum principal stress values and change the stress distributions; (v) cervical contractions potentiate cervical shortening and dilation; (vi) larger intrauterine pressure (IUP) causes considerably larger stress values and cervical opening, larger dilation, and smaller cervical length; and (vii) the biaxial strength of the fetal membrane is only surpassed in the cases of the (1) shortest and most dilated initial cervical geometry and (2) larger IUP.

Idioma: Inglês

Tipo (Avaliação Docente): Científica

Nº de páginas: 20