Forty pregnant C57BL / 6 mice（gestational age： 15－16 d） were randomly divided into normal control group， 2% sevoflurane group， 2% sevoflurane + 1% H₂ group and 2% sevoflurane + 4% H₂ group， and there were 10 mice in each group. The mixed gas of 50% O₂ + 50% N₂ was used as the carrier gas. The treatment time of the mice in each group was 6 h·d^－1. After continuous treatment for 3 d，the pregnant mice in various groups were continued to be fed. The score of nest quality of the 1st-generation mice， the time of the mother mice to first sniff the pups， the time to retrieve the pubs and put into the nest and the survival rates of 2nd-generation exchange pups in various groups were observed. The levels of oxytocin and vasopressin in plasma of the mice in various groups were detected by ELISA method. The expression levels of c-Fos proto-oncogene （c-Fos），poly ADP ribose polymerase 1 （PARP1），cleaved PARP1， Caspase 3，and cleaved Caspase 3 proteins in the medial preoptic area in hypothalamus tissue of the 1st-generation mice in various groups were detected by Western blotting method.

The maternal behavioral observation results showed that there were no milk-fed-2nd-generation pups and unclean 2nd-generation pups in various groups. There was no significant difference in the scores of nest quality of the mother mice among various groups （P>0.05）. The time of the mother mice to first sniff the pups and the time to retriev the pups and put into the nest in 2% sevoflurane group was significantly longer than those in normal control group （P<0.05）. Compared with 2% sevoflurane group， the time of the mother mice to first sniff the pups and the time to retrieve the pups and put into the nest of the mice in 2% sevoflurane + 1% H₂ group were significantly decreased （P<0.05）. There were no significant differences in the time of the mother mice to first sniff the pups and the time to retrieve the pups and put into the nest of the mice between 2% sevoflurane + 4% H₂ group and normal control group （P>0.05）. There were no significant differences in the plasma levels of oxytocin and vasopressin of the pregnant mice among various groups （P>0.05）. There were no significant differences in the expression levels of c-Fos，PARP1， cleaved PARP1， Caspase 3，and cleaved Caspase 3 proteins in medial preoptic area in hypothalamus tissue of the 1st-generation mice among various groups （P>0.05）.

The exposure to clinical doses of sevoflurane during pregnancy period of the mice could not significantly affect the apoptosis in the medial preoptic area in hypothalamus tissue， but it does have an impact on the maternal behavior of the mice. In addition， H₂ has a protective effect against the sevoflurane-mediated abnormal maternal behavior.