General anaesthesia in 12 pregnant ewes undergoing surgery for fetal physiological research was supplemented with an intravenous infusion of remifentanil. This allowed us to employ a lighter plane of surgical anaesthesia and to use intermittent positive pressure ventilation. Our aim was to improve fetomaternal outcome. We monitored maternal pulse, blood pressure, transcutaneous oxygen saturation and end-tidal carbon dioxide levels. Remifentanil doses of 0.75-2.0 microg/kg/min were needed and typically this allowed halothane concentrations of 1-1.5% to be used for maintenance of anaesthesia. Surgery lasted up to 2.5 h. All 12 ewes and their singleton fetuses survived the peri- and postoperative period in good condition.