Complex and nonlinear analysis of heart rate variability in the assessment of fetal and neonatal wellbeing

Study of fetal and neonatal heart rate variability offers a powerful tool to monitor, even indirectly, the physiological control mechanisms playing a crucial role in the early development of human life. Moreover, sleep state analysis is a challenging topic as both quality of the sleep and its relationship with neural development and control can provide information potentially useful to the clinical environment. This contribution aims at presenting major advances in heart rate variability analysis in both fetuses and newborn population during sleep. The important role of quantitative multi-parameter analysis methods will be discussed with reference to new monitoring and diagnostic solutions. Results will be presented and discussed showing how sleep dynamics are related to cardiovascular control systems with the major focus of deeper investigating the development of human life in its early stages. © 2017, Springer International Publishing AG.