baby stuck in birth canal

[mlededee]

i just got home from being out of town for several days and discovered one of my female breeders with what appears to be an unborn baby stuck in her birth canal. i've never actually seen this before, but from the looks of it that's what it appears to be. she doesn't seem to be in pain or bothered by my touching the area. the babies that have been born appear to be at least a day old if not two, have milkbands and appear to be in good condition.

i'm guessing that since the other babies are already nursing and appear over a day old that the unborn baby (babies?) is not going anywhere without removal by a vet. is there anything i can or should do for mom in the mean time?

[Reediculous]

wow! this is a tough one! i hope someone with experience can help you, but my only help would be vet, i wouldn't know what else to do

[recycling goddess]

oh wow, i've never heard of that before... can you get ahold of the baby with tweezers or something? as i'm assuming that the baby is dead.

[mlededee]

upon further inspection and research i'm not sure that the baby is actually in the birth canal. mom is not having contractions, no bleeding and there are no baby feet or other parts visible. i can move the mass around inside of her a good bit and it doesn't seem to bother mom at all when i do so. it kind of feels like the baby is breech--butt facing downward toward the birth canal. it looks like she has a big tumor or something. in the meantime she continues to feed and clean her litter.

[recycling goddess]

i would leave her alone if she's eating and feeding her pups. once they are weaned, if she still has the lump then i would contact a vet. but as long as she's doing well... i would leave her with her pups as they need her to survive.

[sweety314]

Is it uterine prolapse???? If it is, and open to the outside, or if it's a BABY stuck/dead, you're going to be dealing with infection if it's not taken care of. I'd be for taking her to the vet, to make sure what "it" actually is.

[JLC]

Do you have another mom that could foster the babies? Sounds like a trip to the vet is very needful.

[jkobylka]

my guess is it is a prolapse. I hope you're able to figure it out ok...

Justin

[mlededee]

there is nothing open to the outside and her vaginal area looks normal. no discharge, discoloration or anything, just this large pup sized bulge in the area where her uterus is.

[recycling goddess]

i thought there had to be bits hanging out for a prolapse?

i'm thinking (although i could be wrong of course) that perhaps it's just her uterus. it takes us awhile to bring ours back to size after birthing... i would think the little massage you gave her (by checking it out) helped.