Pregnancy (mammals)

As gestation or pregnancy is defined as the discharge of the offspring in the uterus in female viviparous animals. It extends from fertilization until birth, and thus corresponds to the pregnancy of man.

Detection of pregnancy

The determination or confirmation of a pregnancy is a common task of the practical veterinarian. It can be done by:

• Palpation (palpation ) of the enlarging uterus or the fetus itself through the abdominal wall or in larger animals via the rectum ( rectal )
• Imaging methods (mainly ultrasound)
• Hormone assays

Gestation ( gestation period )

The gestation period ( gestation period ) is different depending on the species. In addition, race-specific and individual variations occur within a species, as, for example, of rats known to inhibit in food shortages the fetus in the maturation or regress completely.

For comparison, the human pregnancy lasts 266 days on average.