Effects of Elective Caesarean Sections in Healthy Near-Term Ewes on Subsequent Reproductive Performance
Post-surgical reproductive performance following ovine caesarean section has not been well studied. To assess any direct effects of surgical delivery in the absence of confounders such as dystocia or underlying diseases, we studied elective surgery performed in healthy animals for teaching purposes....
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MDPI AG
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/6/925 |
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| author | Katja Voigt Mara Theisges Yury Zablotski Frank Weber Holm Zerbe |
| author_facet | Katja Voigt Mara Theisges Yury Zablotski Frank Weber Holm Zerbe |
| author_sort | Katja Voigt |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Post-surgical reproductive performance following ovine caesarean section has not been well studied. To assess any direct effects of surgical delivery in the absence of confounders such as dystocia or underlying diseases, we studied elective surgery performed in healthy animals for teaching purposes. Four hundred and eleven paired breeding records following vaginal delivery (<i>n</i> = 233), elective caesarean section (<i>n</i> = 122), and subsequent further vaginal deliveries in animals with a history of one prior elective caesarean operation (<i>n</i> = 56) were evaluated retrospectively. The overall subsequent pregnancy rate was 95%. Multivariable statistical analyses did not reveal any significant influence of planned caesarean surgery on subsequent conception, stillbirth, perinatal lamb mortality, lamb birth weights, or the incidence of premature foetal death (mummification and abortion). A significantly higher number of mating attempts was, however, necessary. Also, a significant reduction in litter size was seen in the first pregnancy immediately following a surgical delivery in comparison to animals which had previously only delivered vaginally (<i>p</i> = 0.001), but litter size returned to pre-caesarean levels in further follow-up pregnancies in animals with a history of one elective caesarean section (<i>p</i> = 0.436). Subsequent long-term reproductive performance of sheep following elective caesarean section is thus excellent, and the results encourage retention for breeding. |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T18:38:20Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-f128eea359fc408fba2098949dae689d2024-03-27T13:17:51ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152024-03-0114692510.3390/ani14060925Effects of Elective Caesarean Sections in Healthy Near-Term Ewes on Subsequent Reproductive PerformanceKatja Voigt0Mara Theisges1Yury Zablotski2Frank Weber3Holm Zerbe4Clinic for Ruminants with Ambulatory and Herd Health Services, Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Sonnenstr. 16, 85764 Oberschleissheim, GermanyClinic for Ruminants with Ambulatory and Herd Health Services, Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Sonnenstr. 16, 85764 Oberschleissheim, GermanyClinic for Ruminants with Ambulatory and Herd Health Services, Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Sonnenstr. 16, 85764 Oberschleissheim, GermanyClinic for Ruminants with Ambulatory and Herd Health Services, Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Sonnenstr. 16, 85764 Oberschleissheim, GermanyClinic for Ruminants with Ambulatory and Herd Health Services, Centre for Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Sonnenstr. 16, 85764 Oberschleissheim, GermanyPost-surgical reproductive performance following ovine caesarean section has not been well studied. To assess any direct effects of surgical delivery in the absence of confounders such as dystocia or underlying diseases, we studied elective surgery performed in healthy animals for teaching purposes. Four hundred and eleven paired breeding records following vaginal delivery (<i>n</i> = 233), elective caesarean section (<i>n</i> = 122), and subsequent further vaginal deliveries in animals with a history of one prior elective caesarean operation (<i>n</i> = 56) were evaluated retrospectively. The overall subsequent pregnancy rate was 95%. Multivariable statistical analyses did not reveal any significant influence of planned caesarean surgery on subsequent conception, stillbirth, perinatal lamb mortality, lamb birth weights, or the incidence of premature foetal death (mummification and abortion). A significantly higher number of mating attempts was, however, necessary. Also, a significant reduction in litter size was seen in the first pregnancy immediately following a surgical delivery in comparison to animals which had previously only delivered vaginally (<i>p</i> = 0.001), but litter size returned to pre-caesarean levels in further follow-up pregnancies in animals with a history of one elective caesarean section (<i>p</i> = 0.436). Subsequent long-term reproductive performance of sheep following elective caesarean section is thus excellent, and the results encourage retention for breeding.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/6/925caesarean sectionfertilitylitter sizedystociasheep |
| spellingShingle | Katja Voigt Mara Theisges Yury Zablotski Frank Weber Holm Zerbe Effects of Elective Caesarean Sections in Healthy Near-Term Ewes on Subsequent Reproductive Performance Animals caesarean section fertility litter size dystocia sheep |
| title | Effects of Elective Caesarean Sections in Healthy Near-Term Ewes on Subsequent Reproductive Performance |
| title_full | Effects of Elective Caesarean Sections in Healthy Near-Term Ewes on Subsequent Reproductive Performance |
| title_fullStr | Effects of Elective Caesarean Sections in Healthy Near-Term Ewes on Subsequent Reproductive Performance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effects of Elective Caesarean Sections in Healthy Near-Term Ewes on Subsequent Reproductive Performance |
| title_short | Effects of Elective Caesarean Sections in Healthy Near-Term Ewes on Subsequent Reproductive Performance |
| title_sort | effects of elective caesarean sections in healthy near term ewes on subsequent reproductive performance |
| topic | caesarean section fertility litter size dystocia sheep |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/14/6/925 |
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