Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2003 Oct;189(4):958-62.  Links

The role of fetal breathing motions compared with gasping motions in pulmonary
airway uptake of intra-amniotic iron dextran.

Pollack JA, Moise KJ Jr, Tyson WR, Galan HL.

Division of Obstetrics, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of
Colorado Health Sciences Center. USA.

OBJECTIVE: We hypothesized that normal fetal breathing, not acute asphyxial
gasping, results in the movement of iron dextran from the amniotic cavity into
the fetal lungs. In addition, the amount of iron dextran moving into the fetal
lungs is cumulative with time.Study design Twelve pregnant New Zealand White
rabbits at 25 days of gestation were sedated and underwent ultrasound-guided
injections of iron dextran into the amniotic cavities of the rabbit fetuses in
both horns of each pregnant doe. Oxygen saturation was maintained at >90% in
the pregnant does. The 12 does were then equally assigned to four groups on the
basis of the duration of fetal exposure to the dextran (0, 8, 16, and 24
hours). At the end of each time point, one half of the fetuses received an
intracardiac injection of potassium chloride to induce gasping just before
necropsy. Gasping was confirmed by ultrasound scanning. At necropsy, the fetal
lungs were evaluated grossly and underwent histomorphometry for iron
distribution and quantification in the fetal airways. RESULTS: In the animals
that received iron dextran, there was no significant difference in iron
accumulation at any time point between those animals that did and did not
receive potassium chloride, which suggests that acute gasping does not increase
the accumulation of amniotic fluid substances in the lungs. The amount of iron
in the fetal airways increased significantly with progressive length of
exposure. CONCLUSION: We conclude that normal fetal breathing, not acute
asphyxial gasping, resulted in the movement of intra-amniotic iron dextran into
the fetal lungs and that the amount of substances that move into the fetal
lungs accumulated with time.

PMID: 14586334 [PubMed - in process]

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