The ability to precisely predict the duration of pregnancy is of practical importance for managing parturition or planning caesarean section and this review analyses the methods that can be used to accurately forecast the day of parturition.
At the time of breeding, determination of the luteinizing hormone surge and the initial rise in progesterone provide reliable information on gestational length of the bitch, but when pregnancy is ascertained, ultrasonography is the most useful tool to predict the delivery day.
In fact, by ultrasonographic measurements of the extra-foetal and foetal structures an accurate prediction can be made both in early and late pregnancy. Details what to measure can be found in the full article.
Source: Luvoni, GC & Beccaglia, M (2006): The Prediction of Parturition Date in Canine Pregnancy. In: Reproduction in Domestic Animals 41 (1), 27-32.
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