Veterinary case
A stillborn calf caused by a twisted umbilical cord
⚠️ This information is provided for awareness only and does not replace an examination by a veterinarian.
🤖 Summary produced automatically from the scientific publication cited at the bottom of the page.
A cow was well past her due date, hiding a tragedy that had happened months earlier inside her womb.
What happened?
A 36-month-old Holstein cow, pregnant for the first time, showed no signs of calving despite already being 285 days pregnant. The owner noticed the udder was not developing normally, which is not a good sign before calving. The veterinarian began closely monitoring the pregnancy with repeated ultrasound scans.
What did the vet find?
Early ultrasounds showed a normal fetal heartbeat, but it disappeared after day 295 of pregnancy. The veterinarian then diagnosed fetal death. After induced delivery, the autopsy revealed that the abnormally long umbilical cord was tightly wrapped around the calf's right hind leg and twisted more than a full turn, which had cut off blood flow to the fetus for months. Although carried for over 10 months, the calf was the size and developmental stage of a normal 7-month fetus.
What did the vet do?
ℹ️ Treatment given to THIS animal, decided by its veterinarian. It is not a prescription: never apply it without veterinary advice.
Once fetal death was confirmed, the veterinarian induced delivery with a corticosteroid injection followed the next day by a hormone injection to trigger contractions. The dead calf was delivered two days later, and an autopsy was performed to understand the cause of the problem.
What happened next?
The cow remained in good general condition throughout monitoring and after the induced calving. Although her udder had remained very poorly developed before delivery, it gradually swelled afterward, and lactation proceeded normally.
Advice for the farmer
When a pregnancy goes past its due date without signs of calving, especially with a poorly developing udder, it is best to consult a veterinarian quickly to check by ultrasound whether the fetus is still alive.
Source
- Source
- PubMed Central
- Title
- Case Report: Fetal growth restriction and prolonged gestation associated with umbilical cord torsion and entanglement in a Holstein dairy cow.
- Authors
- Ohsaki K, Sano Y, Murakami T, Ishiguro Y, Ohtake A, Sato A, Nakada K, Sugiura T.
- Year
- 2025
- DOI
- 10.3389/fvets.2025.1704892
- Licence
- CC BY
