INSTITUTE OF CANINE BIOLOGY — DARK WHELPING PROJECT
Conditions of prematurity and hypoxia in humans
THE INTERACTIVE "HYPOXIA" BOARD
We know that many puppies are exposed to inadequate oxygen during birth, and that this accounts for a very high level of mortality (20-25%) before the pups are even weeks old. The puppies that survive might also have been exposed to less severe (non-fatal) levels of oxygen deprivation, and we know from human medicine that inadequate oxygen during birth can have profound and severe effects on infants.
However, we know very little about how perinatal hypoxia affects newborn puppies. In the absence of actual research, we can look at the consequences in humans and expect to see many similarities in dogs. So these aren't "dog data", but if we conduct the research, we can expect to see many of these same disorders.
It's hard to appreciate the unseen consequences of oxygen deprivation when a newborn puppy looks just fine from the outside. Use this interactive board to explore the types of problems you might expect to see in dogs if they are similar to humans.
To get started, toggle "Prematurity" on and click on the first box on the right, "Direct hypoxic-ischemic injury". You will see that this simple condition results in a lot of issues that you might not have considered to be a result of slow whelping.
However, we know very little about how perinatal hypoxia affects newborn puppies. In the absence of actual research, we can look at the consequences in humans and expect to see many similarities in dogs. So these aren't "dog data", but if we conduct the research, we can expect to see many of these same disorders.
It's hard to appreciate the unseen consequences of oxygen deprivation when a newborn puppy looks just fine from the outside. Use this interactive board to explore the types of problems you might expect to see in dogs if they are similar to humans.
To get started, toggle "Prematurity" on and click on the first box on the right, "Direct hypoxic-ischemic injury". You will see that this simple condition results in a lot of issues that you might not have considered to be a result of slow whelping.
Go to:
https://www.instituteofcaninebiology.org/hypoxia_humans.html
When you arrive, click on the "+ Prematurity" toggle in the purple box at the top. Now you should see a list of body systems on the left, and a list of "Candidate Mechanisms on the right".
https://www.instituteofcaninebiology.org/hypoxia_humans.html
When you arrive, click on the "+ Prematurity" toggle in the purple box at the top. Now you should see a list of body systems on the left, and a list of "Candidate Mechanisms on the right".
Click on the first box under "Candidate Mechanisms" on the right. Now there are connections to all of the body systems affected by exposure to inadequate oxygen during birth in humans. Note that it's a LOT.
Now click "Prematurity" to off, and you will see the conditions that occur in organs that are not fully developed at birth in dogs disappear (lungs, eyes, ears, and kidney).
Most breeders have experienced slow whelping of a litter; in fact, it's considered quite ordinary. Even the vet says not to worry unless nothing happens for about two hours. But how much oxygen does the puppy have to get from the uterus to the outside world? Ten minutes? A half hour? We don't really know. But we get a lot of stillborn puppies, and many more that are distressed at birth and must be revived. Have these puppies been affected? This chart shows you what might be affected.
The point here is that those few minutes that the puppy spends on its journey from the uterus to the outside world can result in profound effects on its health immediately and for life.
