Five fetuses with absent end-diastolic umbilical artery velocity had normal fetal acid-base status assessed by cordocentesis. Each fetus, despite widely differing pathologic conditions, deteriorated over the next several days. These cases confirm an earlier report of normal gases with absent umbilical artery end-diastolic velocity. Normal blood gases on cordocentesis cannot provide extended reassurance in fetuses with absent end-diastolic velocity.