What to Do When a Cow Has Difficulty Calving? Midwifery Methods Farmers Must Master

Every calving season, many cows are about to give birth, but many of them cannot complete a normal delivery. There are all sorts of factors and reasons behind this. Some farmers fail to consider certain situations, so they cannot determine the cause. So what are the causes of difficult calving? Below, Shuaishuai will explain what to do when a cow has difficulty calving!

1. Causes of Difficult Calving

Many cows are no longer giving birth for the first time; they may have already delivered several calves before. On top of that, some farmers provide feed of substandard quality, or give the cows inferior feed, which easily leads to poor physical condition and weakened immunity. Also, a frequent lack of exercise or excessive labor can reduce the elasticity of the cow's uterus, making the birth canal very narrow, which then leads to difficult calving due to an oversized fetus. In some cases, fetal deformity or abnormal fetal position can also trigger difficult calving.

2. Symptoms

Once labor begins and there are obvious signs of delivery, the labor still takes a very long time, with weak straining and weak contractions. The fetus cannot pass out of the vagina for a long time. The head and part of the body can be seen emerging at the vagina, but it simply cannot fully pass out.

3. Weak Contractions and Straining

Because the uterus's contracting ability is weak during delivery, the fetus remains stuck in the vagina and cannot be delivered. The cervical mucus has already softened. In this situation, most measures involve directly and slowly pulling the fetus out.

4. Narrow Birth Canal

This situation is more common in cows giving birth for the first time. Generally, the cow strains strongly, but the fetus's lips appear at the vaginal opening and the vulva is pushed outward; however, once the straining stops, it retracts again. To prevent this situation, it is best to inject a lubricant into the vagina before calving and use the hand to stretch the vagina as much as possible. If a tumor is found in the vagina or it is too narrow, surgery can be performed to cut it open.

5. Abnormal Fetal Position

Abnormal fetal position means the fetus's posture in the birth canal is abnormal, such as backward presentation or transverse presentation. In this case, some warm liquid paraffin oil can be injected into the birth canal, and then the hand can be used to pull and adjust the fetus's posture in the birth canal, correcting the posture while pushing. Generally, difficult calving caused by deformity is mostly handled with a cesarean section.

The above are the methods for dealing with difficult calving in cows. Have you learned them? During the midwifery process, be sure not to injure the cow, and act carefully. I hope this article is helpful to everyone.