A vasopressin antagonist blocks the norepinephrine and epinephrine responses to hemorrhage in the fetus.

In 8 chronically cannulated fetal lambs between 119 and 127 days gestation the resting plasma norepinephrine concentration was 528 +/- 77 pg X ml-1 and the resting plasma epinephrine concentration 159 +/- 42 pg X ml-1. Hemorrhage of 20% of estimated blood volume at 2% per min produced a 2.1-fold increase in plasma norepinephrine levels and a 3.4-fold increase in plasma epinephrine levels when the animals were pretreated with an injection of saline (1 ml). Plasma catecholamine levels returned toward control values following return of the shed blood. In contrast, hemorrhage of these animals following pretreatment with an antagonist of the pressor effect of vasopressin did not cause an increase in fetal plasma catecholamine levels. Thus, vasopressin may mediate the sympathetic responses to volume depletion in the fetus.