Temperature responses following ventilation of the fetal sheep in utero

The mammalian fetus produces significant quantities of heat. This passes to the mother principally through the placenta and to a lesser extent via a pathway comprising the skin, amniotic fluid, and uterine wall. To assess the importance of the lesser pathway, temperature responses were recorded in 7 near-term fetal sheep after intrauterine ventilation with oxygen, after snaring the umbilical cord to block the placental route, and following fetal death. Four distinguishing characteristics of responses were observed: fetal temperature rose 0.10 +/- 0.03 (SEM) degrees C after oxygenation; it rose progressively an additional 0.9 +/- 0.1 degrees C during the 90-min interval after cord snaring; amniotic fluid temperature rose slowly until it was about midway between fetal and maternal temperature; and after fetal death, fetal amniotic fluid temperatures fell slowly. In a simple mathematical model with constant parameters these results could not be explained fully. It was necessary to assume that heat production rose with increased oxygenation and elevated body temperature and that ventilation increased heat transfer through the amniotic fluid, as would occur if chest wall movement were stirring the fluid. Using the model, the value for heat conductance from fetal skin to amniotic fluid was estimated to be 10.5 watts degrees C-1 under basal conditions.