The fetus produces much metabolic heat and loses it mainly via the placental circulation, across a fetomaternal temperature gradient of ~0.5�C. During maternal hyperthermia, the risk of noxious fetal hyperthermia is less than expected. The thermal protection appears to result from the fetus's own thermal inertia and consequences of maternal thermoregulatory strategies.
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Laburn Hp (1996) studied this question.