Although ovine and human fetuses swallow considerable volumes of fluid, the impact of absence of fetal swallowing on amniotic fluid volume regulation is unclear. To study the role of fetal swallowing on urine production and amniotic fluid, seven ovine fetuses (126 +/- 1 days) were chronically prepared with fetal bladder and vascular catheters, an esophageal flow probe, an inflatable esophageal cuff, and amniotic fluid catheters. In the five fetuses that underwent esophageal ligation after the control period, fetal swallowing averaged 0.27 ml/min before occlusion. In response to esophageal occlusion, significant increases were noted in fetal plasma arginine vasopressin (6.9 +/- 2.6 to 16.6 +/- 4.4 pg/ml) and urine osmolality (159 +/- 1 to 324 +/- 30 mOsm/kg), whereas urine volume (0.25 ml/min) did not change. Amniotic fluid volume increased nearly threefold after 3 days of esophageal occlusion (582 +/- 180 to 1530 +/- 271 ml). Amniotic fluid volume remained normal (334 to 419 ml) in the one fetus in which the occluder did not inflate. In the one fetus in which the esophagus was occluded at surgery, amniotic fluid volume was increased after the surgical recovery period (1489 ml). These data indicate an important role of fetal swallowing in amniotic fluid homeostasis and the potential interaction of swallowing with fetal urine production.