A Protocol for Evaluating Vital Signs and Maternal-Fetal Parameters Using High-Resolution Ultrasound in Pregnant Mice

Jose Galaz1,2,3, Roberto Romero1,4,5,6,7,8, Marcia Arenas-Hernandez1,2

  • 1Perinatology Research Branch, Division of Obstetrics and Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Division of Intramural Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (NICHD/NIH/DHHS), Detroit, MI, USA.

STAR Protocols
|December 30, 2020
PubMed

Pregnancy is a unique physiological state in which two individuals coexist: the mother and the fetus. Disruption of maternal-fetal crosstalk leads to pregnancy and neonatal pathologies. Therefore, assessing maternal-fetal well-being is essential for understanding the physiological and pathological processes occurring during pregnancy. Herein, we provide a protocol that allows for the determination of body temperature, blood pressure, and the evaluation of uterine and umbilical arteries as well as maternal and fetal heart rate using high-resolution ultrasound in pregnant mice. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Gomez-Lopez et al. (2020).

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