Hi,

I was just wondering if anyone experienced with needed cesarean section and how to know when is the right time to have a booked one? How does a vet know when the best time is to have the section?

Thank you,

Justine

Hi Justine

Normally if a bitch has been "pushing" for more than an hour without any result then a call to the vet is indicated - does this help?

If you are at all concerned then it is better to have a word with your vet too soon rather than too late.  The early hours of the morning always seem worst what ever the problem is.

Hi,

I guess I should have explained myself a bit more. I meant a scheduled c-section, a given day to do the c-section and assure the puppies will live. Has anyone had vets know which day to do so without knowing when the bitch conceived?

Thanks,

Justine

I suppose if you have a breed that can't whelp naturally you might consider this, but putting a bitch and pups though a general anasthetic and major operation for no good medical reason can't be a good idea.  I can't see that it would ensure that all the pups would live as there are so many causes of neo-nate deaths.

The reason for this is that this is a older bitch who has had one stillborn puppy whelping naturally. Our repro. specialist recommended to do a automatic c-section if there were only two puppies or less. I'm only having the x-rays this week to know for sure but I'm suspecting there is only two puppies. I'm wondering how do most vets know when the time is right to do the section. Would some vets wait to see the bitch's first signs of whelping or would they usually just give a approximate date of whelping and go ahead and do the surgery?

Justine

Okay :) beginning to understand now.  I have been though this a few times with singletons.  Generally let them go a day or so over their first due date and if nothing has happened then book them in for a caesar.  The first time this happened we let the bitch go seven days (with daily visits to vet and attempts to get her into labour using acupunture).

I have had bitches give birth to two naturally but one has always, so far, needed a caesar.  I feel that sometimes with singletons there have been more to start with but they have been reabsorbed due to problems so it is possible that the whole litter had a problem and maybe this is why singletons don't always survive or if they do don't always thrive?

Thank you for the info, it's helpfull.

At this point I know she is due next weekend, I worry constently about what is to happen, since our vet (which we believe in and trust) thinks we should go ahead a book a c-section, our vet is very hesitant in doing a section if it's not necessary this is why we are taking her advice, however, I want to make sure we don't go in too early and possibly lose the puppies. Is there such a thing as safety days with whelping? or how many days too early would a puppy possible survive?

Trying to be sure it's not done too early, since we don't know which days she took.

Justine

Hi Justine

I have had a bitch safely give birth 7 days before her due date, but if your vet is keeping a close eye on your bitch I imagine she will ultrasound them before she decides on a day.

Good luck

you should not have a c section done until the bitch is actully in labour because it is the puppy that stimulates the bitch to start labour which in turn releases a hormone which stimulates the pups ability to breath when it comes out - if the puppy isn't ready then doing a c-section will not ensure survival of puppy. I have experienced breeders who want a c section because they think the bitch is overdue or they want pups to be born on a certain day! all the puppies died because they wern't ready to come out - please leave your bitch as long as sensibly possible before resorting to a caesar i once had a bitch that went a whole 7 days over her due date and if it wasn't for the vet saying she'll be fine i would have asked for a caesar after 2 days - she had 2 lovely puppies which weighed in at 1lb each(boxers). Let nature take its course is my advice.

If there is only one pup the bitches often don't go into labour as the pup does not produce enough hormone to get the bitch going - if they actually went into labour there would be no need for a section

I bred from my bitch twice and on both occasions she welped on 63 days with my help and temp dropped 24 hrs before. Her last litter I prebooked a section at 63 days do to the complications last time, the reason why I booked it for that day was because she welped on 63 days last time (no these were not side by side breedings). I started taking her temperature at the exact same time 2 weeks before and her temp dropped on day 62 which I was glad and she started her labour and we were in on time for the section because I already had it booked. But if her temp didn't drop I would of left it and cancelled for the next day. She was also spayed at the same time. boston terriers are know for sections do to pups big head and bitches narrow pelvic.