Abstract
The effect of maternal hyperventilation during labor was studied in 20 patients. Fetal scalp blood samples were analyzed for pH, pO2, pCO2, and base excess and compared with maternal free-flowing venous blood samples taken at the same time. Samples were obtained for baseline values and repeated during and following a period of active hyperventilation. Both maternal and fetal pH rose with hyperventilation. No fetal acidosis was observed even in the 5 cases of severe maternal hypocarbia. Maternal pCO2 during labor was low even prior to intentional hyperventilation. Both maternal and fetal pCO2 decreased, the maternal change being greater than the fetal. There was a slight but statistically significant decrease in the fetal pO2 during hyperventilation. However, fetal oxygen levels remained within physiologic range throughout the study.
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