Effect of Stage of Gestation and Uterine Space on Prenatal Survival in the Pig

Webel, S. K.; Dziuk, P. J.

doi:10.2527/jas1974.385960x

Cited by 87 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…As gestation progresses, the negative effects of limited uterine space on fetal development also increase (Vonnahme et al, 2002). The great within-litter variation in birth weight and increased proportion of small piglets born to the highly prolific sows as used today are likely related, in part, to intra-uterine crowding from at least the end of the first month of gestation (Foxcroft et al, 2006), especially when there are more than 14 fetuses present within the uterus (Webel and Dziuk, 1974). Moreover, intrauterine crowding can alter the pattern of development of fetal muscle fibers in the immediate postimplantation period (Foxcroft et al, 2007), when mesenchymal stem cells of the embryo undergo differentiation for myogenesis, adipogenesis or mesenchymal cells (Cossu and Borello, 1999;Du et al, 2010).…”

Section: Available Uterine Spacementioning

confidence: 99%

Within-litter variation in birth weight: impact of nutritional status in the sow

Yuan

Zhu

Shi

et al. 2015

J. Zhejiang Univ. Sci. B

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Accompanying the beneficial improvement in litter size from genetic selection for high-prolificacy sows, within-litter variation in birth weight has increased with detrimental effects on post-natal growth and survival due to an increase in the proportion of piglets with low birth-weight. Causes of within-litter variation in birth weight include breed characteristics that affect uterine space, ovulation rate, degree of maturation of oocytes, duration of time required for ovulation, interval between ovulation and fertilization, uterine capacity for implantation and placentation, size and efficiency of placental transport of nutrients, communication between conceptus/fetus and maternal systems, as well as nutritional status and environmental influences during gestation. Because these factors contribute to within-litter variation in birth weight, nutritional status of the sow to improve fetal-placental development must focus on the following three important stages in the reproductive cycle: pre-mating or weaning to estrus, early gestation and late gestation. The goal is to increase the homogeneity of development of oocytes and conceptuses, decrease variations in conceptus development during implantation and placentation, and improve birth weights of newborn piglets. Though some progress has been made in nutritional regulation of within-litter variation in the birth weight of piglets, additional studies, with a focus on and insights into molecular mechanisms of reproductive physiology from the aspects of maternal growth and offspring development, as well as their regulation by nutrients provided to the sow, are urgently needed.

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Section: Available Uterine Spacementioning

confidence: 99%

Within-litter variation in birth weight: impact of nutritional status in the sow

Yuan

Zhu

Shi

et al. 2015

J. Zhejiang Univ. Sci. B

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“…They are in agreement with the concept of uterine capacity demonstrated through superovulation with a PMSG treatment of sows [12,33,41] or superinduction, adding embryos to recipient pregnant sows [3,4,19,42]: despite a much higher ovulation rate per uterine horn in the HHO than in the CTR group, litter size at term is not different. According to Webel and Dziuk [54], Knight et al [31] or Chen and Dziuk [9], foetal death related to uterine capacity occurs after day 25 of gestation. Legault et al [32] and Père et al [40] found that death of the supernumerary foetuses occurs partly before 35 days of gestation and continues thereafter.…”

Section: Effect Of Treatments On Reproductive Performance and Ubfmentioning

confidence: 99%

Uterine blood flow in sows: effects of pregnancy stage and litter size

Père

Etienne

2000

Reprod. Nutr. Dev.

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-Female pigs were assigned to three groups at 94 days of age: a control group (CTR), a group undergoing the ligation and severing of the left oviduct (LIG), and a group undergoing right hysteroovariectomy (HHO). They were inseminated at 307 days of age. At 35 days of pregnancy, an ultrasonic transit time flow probe was implanted around the middle artery of one uterine horn in 33 sows and uterine blood flow was measured during thirteen 24-h periods between 44 and 111 days. Despite large differences in ovulation rate per uterine horn (4.8, 8.3 and 16.9 in the LIG, CTR and HHO groups, respectively), variation of litter size was considerably reduced with advancement of pregnancy (3.0, 6.6 and 10.8 foetuses per uterine horn at 35 days, and 3.0, 5.8 and 4.9 at 112 days (slaughter), respectively). Uterine blood flow increased linearly during pregnancy. It was lower in the LIG sows (0.82 to 1.74 L . min -1. horn -1 from 44 to 111 days) than in the CTR and HHO sows (1.22 to 2.84 and 1.09 to 2.63 L . min -1. horn -1 , respectively). It was more closely related to litter weight than to litter size and amounted to 0.42 L . min -1. kg foetus -1 at 111 days. Uterine blood flow per foetus decreased when litter size increased. It increased from 0.31 to 0.72, 0.26 to 0.60 and 0.20 to 0.43 L . min -1. foetus -1 from 44 to 111 days when there were 2 to 3, 4 to 5, and 6 to 8 foetuses in the uterine horn, respectively. This explains why piglets from large litters are lighter at birth.

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“…Resorption is the most apparent explanation for the "disappearance" of a gestational sac. Resorption occurs in singleton pregnancies and in lower animals [7,42]. Some investigators consider this phenomenon a plausible explanation for the "disappearance" of one or more gestational sacs in a human multiple pregnancy [10,13,18,20].…”

Section: Physiological Explanationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Vanishing Twin

Landy¹,

Keith

1982

Acta genet. med. gemellol.: twin res.

102

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In general, it has not been recognized that many twin or multiple gestations are lost in utero early in pregnancy. Until the advent of ultrasound, the ability to document early human fetal loss in multiple gestation was difficult. However, recent reports of serial ultrasound examinations of pregnant women have documented the "disappearance" of at least one of two gestational rings. Furthermore, the number of twins observed at delivery was significantly less than the number of twin conceptions originally identified by ultrasound during the first trimester. These observations led to the concept of the "vanishing twin" [8,10,13,15,17,20,22,35,41].In order to obtain reference and personal data on this subject, we reviewed the literature and corresponded with members of the International Society for Twin Studies and obstetricians affiliated with Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, Illinois. The nine studies that have documented this phenomenon cite "disappearance" rates ranging from 0% to 78%, depending on patient population and timing of ultrasonography [8,10,13,15,17,20,22,35,41]. Several explanations are offered: physiological mechanisms of "disappearance" (resorption or formation of a blighted ovum or fetus papyraceus), artifactual error, incomplete scanning technique, and poor quality ultrasound equipment. The only complication thus far associated with "disappearance" of a fetus is slight vaginal bleeding.

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Effect of Stage of Gestation and Uterine Space on Prenatal Survival in the Pig

Cited by 87 publications

References 10 publications

Within-litter variation in birth weight: impact of nutritional status in the sow

Within-litter variation in birth weight: impact of nutritional status in the sow

Uterine blood flow in sows: effects of pregnancy stage and litter size

The Vanishing Twin

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