Abstract
Introduction: With increasing litter size, management of the sow around farrowing has become critical. It is well known that use of oxytocin in conjunction
with dystocia such as inertia uteri will enhance uterine contractions and use of exogenous oxytocin is therefore indicated. However, only very little has been
reported about the use of oxytocin during the third phase of parturition, that is the expulsion of the placenta. We therefore hypothesized that use of oxytocin
at the end of the second phase of parturition would improve the expulsion of the placenta and therefore decrease the overall duration of parturition.
Materials and Methods: We designed a trial with 107 crossbred sows (Yorkshire x Landrace, of parity 4,2 ± 1,1 SD) submitted to farrow. We grouped sows
according to the use of oxytocin; 42 of the sows received one injection of oxytocin (10 IU i.m. 5 cm caudal from the ear base) at the end of the phase two of
parturition. The remaining 65 sows served as controls. The complete process of farrowing was video recorded for the different phases of parturition,
focusing on the expulsion of the placenta. On d 3 of lactation, a transcutaneous ultrasound examination (10 MHz, Esaote SpA, Italy) was applied for
determination of the presence or absence of placenta as well as the size of the uterus. We analyzed the effect of use of oxytocin on farrowing – related,
fetal and uterine parameters with independent two sample t-test and chi-square test where appropriate (PASW Statistics v. 18.0.0).
Results: The sows farrowed an average of 16,2 ± 3,8 born piglets / litter with an average duration of farrowing until the end of the second phase of 402,3 ±
244,0 min and an overall duration of farrowing of 695,3 ± 279,8 min. The average duration of expulsion of the placenta was 295,8 ±231,0 min. Use of
oxytocin shortened the overall duration of farrowing by 136 min (P=0,013) and the duration of the expulsion of placenta by 119 min (Pwas expulsed in 3,5 ± 1,4 parts, which was not affected by the use of oxytocin. According to the US scan post partum, use of oxytocin decreased retained
placenta and tended to decrease the risk of increased uterine size (PConclusion: The present results indicate that limited used of oxytocin at the end of the second phase of parturition may shorten the expulsion phase of the
placenta and thereby the overall duration of farrowing. However, the number of parts of placenta expulsed was unaffected, suggesting an improved
clearance of the uterus by endogenous oxytocin. The US findings indicate a potentially improved further clearance and involution of the uterus post partum
by the use of oxytocin.
with dystocia such as inertia uteri will enhance uterine contractions and use of exogenous oxytocin is therefore indicated. However, only very little has been
reported about the use of oxytocin during the third phase of parturition, that is the expulsion of the placenta. We therefore hypothesized that use of oxytocin
at the end of the second phase of parturition would improve the expulsion of the placenta and therefore decrease the overall duration of parturition.
Materials and Methods: We designed a trial with 107 crossbred sows (Yorkshire x Landrace, of parity 4,2 ± 1,1 SD) submitted to farrow. We grouped sows
according to the use of oxytocin; 42 of the sows received one injection of oxytocin (10 IU i.m. 5 cm caudal from the ear base) at the end of the phase two of
parturition. The remaining 65 sows served as controls. The complete process of farrowing was video recorded for the different phases of parturition,
focusing on the expulsion of the placenta. On d 3 of lactation, a transcutaneous ultrasound examination (10 MHz, Esaote SpA, Italy) was applied for
determination of the presence or absence of placenta as well as the size of the uterus. We analyzed the effect of use of oxytocin on farrowing – related,
fetal and uterine parameters with independent two sample t-test and chi-square test where appropriate (PASW Statistics v. 18.0.0).
Results: The sows farrowed an average of 16,2 ± 3,8 born piglets / litter with an average duration of farrowing until the end of the second phase of 402,3 ±
244,0 min and an overall duration of farrowing of 695,3 ± 279,8 min. The average duration of expulsion of the placenta was 295,8 ±231,0 min. Use of
oxytocin shortened the overall duration of farrowing by 136 min (P=0,013) and the duration of the expulsion of placenta by 119 min (Pwas expulsed in 3,5 ± 1,4 parts, which was not affected by the use of oxytocin. According to the US scan post partum, use of oxytocin decreased retained
placenta and tended to decrease the risk of increased uterine size (PConclusion: The present results indicate that limited used of oxytocin at the end of the second phase of parturition may shorten the expulsion phase of the
placenta and thereby the overall duration of farrowing. However, the number of parts of placenta expulsed was unaffected, suggesting an improved
clearance of the uterus by endogenous oxytocin. The US findings indicate a potentially improved further clearance and involution of the uterus post partum
by the use of oxytocin.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Publication status | Published - 2016 |
| MoE publication type | Not Eligible |
| Event | International Pig Veterinary Society Congress - Dublin, Ireland Duration: 7 Jun 2016 → 10 Jun 2017 Conference number: 24 |
Conference
| Conference | International Pig Veterinary Society Congress |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Ireland |
| City | Dublin |
| Period | 07/06/2016 → 10/06/2017 |