U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 Livestock Bio-Systems: Clay Center, NE
 close



    Research

                    Research Projects
                                    Publications
                                    Collaborations
                                    News
                People

                    Staff Listing
                                    Careers


        


                    USMARC Home
                    USMARC Research Units
                        Genetics and Animal Breeding
                                    Meat Safety & Meat Quality
                                    Nutrition, Growth and Physiology
                                    Animal Health GenomicsSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home Plains Area Clay Center, Nebraska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center Livestock Bio-Systems Research Publications at this Location





- ARS National Programs
- Search for a scientific manuscript
- Search for a research project
- ARS Software
- Programs and Projects
- Collaborations
- Subjects of Investigation
- Publications
- IACUC Summaries

Title:   Author  item
                                            Vallet, Jeffitem
                                            Miles, Jeremyitem
                                            Brown-Brandl, Tamiitem
                                            Nienaber, John
  Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
                                    Publication Type: Abstract Only
                                    Publication Acceptance Date: 3/31/2009
                                    Publication  Date: 6/20/2009
                                    Citation: Vallet, J.L., Miles, J.R., Brown Brandl, T.M., Nienaber, J.A. 2009. Effect of Empty Uterine Space on Placental Development, Farrowing Intervals, and Stillbirth [abstract]. Proceedings of VIIIth International Conference on Pig Reproduction, Banff, Alberta, Canada, p. 158.Interpretive Summary:
                                Technical Abstract: Prolonged farrowing intervals (FI) are associated with stillbirth and decrease as litter size increases, but the reason is unclear. We hypothesized that unoccupied uterine space associated with small litters could present a barrier to delivery of piglets and increase FI. Empty uterine space was created in gilts by crushing 1 or 2 fetuses on either the ovarian (O) or cervical (C) end of uterine horns on day 35 of pregnancy. This also provided a test of the effects of adjacent empty uterine space on placental and fetal development. A subset (n = 27) of gilts were slaughtered at 105 days of gestation to determine whether the treatment was successful and to measure effects on the placenta and fetus. The rest of the gilts (n = 75) were farrowed and monitored with 24-h video. At slaughter, the lengths of empty regions of the uterus were measured. Each fetus was removed and weighed and the lengths of the ovarian- and cervical-facing halves of each placenta were measured from the umbilicus; then, each placenta was weighed. For farrowed gilts, each piglet’s status (live, stillborn, mummy) and FI were recorded. At slaughter, treatment successfully (P < 0.01) increased the length (cm) of empty uterine horn (O treatment, O end = 25.8 ± 2.1 vs. C end = 4.6 ± 2.0; C treatment, O end = 7.2 ± 2.8 vs. C end = 22.0 ± 2.7). This resulted in increased (P < 0.01) placental-half lengths (cm) adjacent to the empty spaces (O treatment, O half = 21.4 ± 1.2 vs. C half = 12.5 ± 1.2; C treatment, O half = 11.3 ± 1.2 vs. C half = 19.2 ± 1.2). Placental and fetal weights were greater (P = 0.05) in empty space adjacent compared with nonadjacent fetuses. There were no effects of treatment on piglet FI or stillbirth. These data clearly indicate that (1) placental potential is not fixed by day 35 of gestation, (2) adjacent empty uterine space is advantageous to developing fetuses after day 35 of pregnancy, and (3) empty uterine space does not influence FI or stillbirth rates and therefore does not explain the effect of litter size on FI.


Return to top


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov