title: Role of the nutritional status of the litter and length and frequency of mother-litter contact bouts in prolonging lactational diestrus in rats.
abstract: Food restricting lactating rat dams over the first 2 weeks of lactation results in a prolongation of the period of lactational diestrus. Such food restriction has not only a direct effect on the dam but also the pups are undernourished, and the pattern of dam-litter contact is also changed. In a series of studies, we investigated the effects of nursing undernourished pups and the change in dam-litter interaction on the prolongation of lactational diestrus. While nursing undernourished pups in the last 2 weeks of lactation is sufficient to extend lactational diestrus in ad lib-fed dams nursing well-nourished pups in the last 2 weeks of lactation is not necessary for the prolongation of lactational diestrus seen in food-restricted dams. Further, neither nursing underfed pups nor increased nest time in the first 2 weeks postpartum are necessary factors for the prolongation of lactational diestrus in food-restricted dams.
authors.affiliation: Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Woodside
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Jans
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001833:Body Temperature Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D004031:Diestrus / Q000502:physiology*; D002149:Energy Intake / Q000502:physiology; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005508:Food Deprivation / Q000502:physiology; D007774:Lactation / Q000502:physiology*; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D009752:Nutritional Status; D011247:Pregnancy; D011603:Psychophysiology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012931:Social Environment; D013391:Sucking Behavior / Q000502:physiology*