Intrapartum repetitive maternal heart rate deceleration pattern simulating nonreassuring fetal status

Uterine contraction-associated accelerations of the maternal heart rate are considered to reflect both a transient contraction-related increase in cardiac output and endogenous catecholamine secretion. Uterine contraction-associated decelerations of the maternal heart rate are rare and remain unexplained. A young multiparous patient with systemic lupus erythematosus (postrenal transplant for lupus nephropathy-related renal failure) presented in early labor at 39 weeks gestation, prior to elective repeat cesarean section. Intrapartum continuous maternal heart rate monitoring demonstrated repetitive uterine contraction associated decelerations of the maternal heart rate of 60 beats per minute, each lasting 2 minutes, simulating nonreassuring fetal status. Simultaneously depicted fetal heart rate was reassuring. This case demonstrates an unusual marked early intrapartum affect of uterine contractions upon the maternal heart rate. In addition, this case illustrates the potentially dangerous similarity of an intrapartum maternal heart rate to an abnormal fetal heart rate pattern, and emphasizes the importance of correct identification of the maternal and fetal heart rates, respectively.