BACKGROUND Understanding the physiology of pregnancy enables effective management of pregnancy complications that could otherwise be life threatening for both mother and fetus. A functional uterus (i) retains the fetus in utero during pregnancy without initiating stretch-induced contractions and (ii) is able to dilate the cervix and contract the myometrium at term to deliver the fetus. The onse...

Plasma samples were obtained before and during parturition from conscious rats implanted chronically with a jugular cannula. Rats were either allowed to remain in their nesting cage throughout parturition, or were moved immediately following the birth of the second or third pup into an empty glass chamber. The time-course of parturition was prolonged for mother rats which were moved in mid-part...

negative energy balance in pregnant ewes during last two month of gestation could result in fatal pregnancy toxemia and affects ewe and lamb health. the understanding of variations of energy related metabolites during this critical period may cast light upon to a better management of the situation. this study describes the variations of serum energy related biochemical metabolites at a period o...

In ungulates, parturition is correlated with a reduction in movement rate. With advances in movement-based technologies comes an opportunity to develop new techniques to assess reproduction in wild ungulates that are less invasive and reduce biases. DeMars et al. (2013, Ecology and Evolution 3:4149-4160) proposed two promising new methods (individual- and population-based; the DeMars model) tha...

Reproduction is associated to the profitability of beef herds, which affects level productivity and influenced by nutritional level. The objective this study was evaluate effect protein energy supplementation, before after parturition, on reproductive variables Nellore primiparous cows extensively raised in Brazilian tropical savannah. Eighty pregnant heifers with parturition estimated for a 45...

The present study was conducted with the objective to the iron, copper and zinc variations in serum of Nili-Ravi buffaloes during pre and post partum periods determine. The study was carried out on 35 pregnant Nili-Ravi buffaloes during June 2008 to October 2008 at Buffalo Research Institute, Pattoki, District Kasur. Blood samples were taken from these buffaloes during three, two and one week b...

The present study aimed to investigate the effects of two lactation sow feeds, differing in n-6:n-3 ratio, given to sows before parturition on body condition and feed intake, periparturient metabolism (leptin, insulin, triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4)), inflammatory parameters (TNFalpha, IL-6, serum amyloid A (SAA)) and on piglet performance (birth weight, survivability). The feed conta...

Preterm birth remains the most serious complication of pregnancy and is associated with increased rates of infant death or permanent neurodevelopmental disability. Our understanding of the regulation of parturition remains inadequate. The scientific literature, largely derived from rodent animal models, suggests two major mechanisms regulating the timing of parturition: the withdrawal of the st...

After parturition, the somatotropic axis of the dairy cow is uncoupled, partly because of reduced concentration of liver-specific GH receptor (GHR) 1A. Estradiol-17 beta(E(2)) concentrations increase at parturition and E(2) upregulates suppressors of cytokine signaling-2 (SOCS-2) mRNA expression, potentially inhibiting GH signaling. Therefore, we hypothesized that SOCS-2 mRNA is upregulated aft...