Plasma glucocorticoid concentrations in calves as an indicator of stress during parturition.
Plasma glucocorticoid concentrations and blood gas values were determined for 6 days in 47 newborn calves that had been subjected to various obstetrical procedures at term. Concentrations of glucocorticoids were uniformly high at birth (70 to 103 ng/ml). Increasing degrees of acidosis were accompanied by increasing glucocorticoid concentrations in plasma. Plasma glucocorticoid concentrations decreased sharply during the first 6 hours after delivery and reached a plateau at 48 hours after birth (14 to 21 ng/ml). The latter was taken as an indication that adaptation had been achieved. Calves subjected to severe pulling had higher glucocorticoid concentrations at birth (110.4 ng/ml) than calves requiring no assistance (88.3 ng/ml), calves requiring only slight assistance (83.8 ng/ml), or calves that had been delivered by cesarean section (82.9 ng/ml).
Hoyer
C
C
Klinik für Geburtshilfe und Gynäkologie des Rindes im Richard-Götze-Haus der Tierärztlichen Hochschule, Hannover, Federal Republic of Germany.
Grunert
E
E
Jöchle
W
W
D000138:Acidosis / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000097:blood*; D002417:Cattle / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000097:blood*; D007743:Labor, Obstetric / Q000097:blood*; D011247:Pregnancy; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis*; D013997:Time Factors
D005938:Glucocorticoids