Figure 2

Schematic representation of a transverse view of the pregnant abdomen in woman. Dark red crown represents the uterine muscle. The EHG is obtained with surface electrodes placed on the abdomen permitting the recording of the EMG produced by the uterine muscle. The electrical activity propagates across different layers: a skin layer, a fat layer, and an inactive tissue layer (ITD, which is the inner content of the abdomen pushed apart by the growing uterus). The depth of the ITD layer increases as the distance d between the electrodes and the median vertical axis of the abdomen increases. ITD = 0 when the electrodes are located on the median vertical axis (d = 0).