The incidence of cervical dystocia and disorders of cervical involution in the post partum cow

The aim of this study was to obtain information on the frequency of cervical dystocia and involution disorders of the canalis cervicalis after difficult dystocia and to characterise factors possibly influencing these pathological conditions. Therefore 317 difficult births in the cow (extraction: 123; foetotomy: 82; caesarean section: 112) and the involution of the cervical canal were documented during the first ten days post partum. In total a cervical dystocia could be diagnosed 53 times (16.7% related to the total number of births). This kind of birth disorder is regularly followed by a caesarean section (p < 0.001). Animals who show a narrowness in the cervix were older than the cows without cervical dystocia (p < 0.05). The same correlation could be detected for the number of births. Animals with delivery problems associated with the cervix had already given birth to more calves than cows who were not affected by cervical disorders (p < 0.01). 58 cows developed a disorder of the cervical involution (18.3% related to the total number of deliveries). This puerperal disorder can be frequently observed after foetotomy (p < 0.001). A correlation between the incidence of disorders of cervical involution and the age or the parity of the animals could not be detected. In the same way, cows with a diagnosis of a cervical dystocia did not develop more frequently disorders of cervical involution than animals who showed a physiological dilation of the cervical canal intra partum.