Water relations of fetal development

Abstract

Normal pregnancy is accompanied by a remarkable increase in total body water, due partly to the growth and development of the conceptus and partly to water retention by the mother. An evaluation of the changes in body water during pregnancy suggests that they could very largely be brought about by the hydrostatic element of osmotic water regulation and are mainly under fetal, rather than maternal control. The results also suggest that pathological disorders of water in pregnancy are essentially secondary, and not primary manifestations of disease.