It’s Time, Past Time, or Is It? Managed Whelping and Cesarean Section in the Dog

The most common reasons for estimation of gestational age or determination of fetal readiness for birth are the presentation of a bitch for timed cesarean section or presumed dystocia. Timed cesarean section may be desirable in bitches with known compromised pregnancy, such as evidence of puppy loss, presence of an obstructive vaginal mass or trauma. Alternately, they may be based on risk factors for dystocia, such as breed history of dystocia, pregnancy with one or two pups, history of failure to whelp in previous litters and breed predisposition to dystocia.1 Techniques for estimation of gestational age and determination of fetal maturity have been described for all stages of gestation with varying degrees of accuracy and can be used singly or in combination for management of routine and high-risk pregnancy ...