Dystocia is a difficult birth, or the inability to deliver a fetus through the birth canal without help. It complicates about 5% of canine pregnancies but approaches 100% in some brachycephalic and achondroplastic breeds. Decisions are time-critical: a delay costs puppies, while giving oxytocin to a bitch with an obstructed birth canal can rupture her uterus.
Key facts
Dystocia at a glance- Species and system: pregnant bitch at term; reproductive system, with fetal and neonatal consequences.
- Causes: maternal (about 75%, most often uterine inertia) or fetal (about 25%: oversize, malposition, malformation, death).
- High-risk breeds: French Bulldog, Boston Terrier, Pug, Chihuahua and English Bulldog; more than 80% of litters of Boston Terriers, Bulldogs and French Bulldogs in a UK survey were born by cesarean section.
- Classic presentation: strong straining for over 30 minutes with no puppy, a long gap between puppies, or green-black discharge before the first puppy.
- Key tests: digital vaginal exam, radiographs (number, size, pelvis) and ultrasound (fetal heart rate).
- Treatment: cesarean section for obstruction, fetal distress or a sick dam; calcium gluconate and low-dose oxytocin only for uterine inertia with a clear birth canal.
- Zoonotic or reportable: no. Consider Brucella canis when puppies are aborted or stillborn without an obvious cause.
What's inside
13 sections in the full guide- Key facts
- How the NAVLE tests this
- Normal whelping
- Cause and pathophysiology
- Clinical signs
- Diagnosis
- Differential diagnoses
- Treatment and management
- Prevention and aftercare
- Prognosis
- Quick review
- Test yourself
- References
The full guide also has 6 tables, 2 figures, 3 self-test questions and 16 references, available to NAVLE members.
Read the full study guide
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