Effects of Some Nutritional Deficiencies on Parturition in Rats

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Abstract
Relation of food consumption to stress at parturition in rats was investigated in three experiments. (1) Females receiving a low thiamin intake during gestation were compared with those receiving a low zinc intake and those receiving either a restricted or ad libitum food intake with adequate zinc. Litter size was reduced in the low thiamin group. Malformed offspring were noted in the other three groups. Little stress at parturition was evident in any of the groups. Serum progesterone concentrations on day 18 were elevated in all three experimental groups relative to ad libitum controls. Urinary hydroxyproline in females with low zinc intakes did not differ from that in ad libitum controls. (2) A 5% protein diet increased food intake only slightly in females with low zinc intake and resulted in death at the end of gestation. (3) Force feeding of pregnant females was unsuccessful, but results with females given the low zinc diet or restricted amounts of the diet plus zinc supported results obtained in the other two experiments. The possibility that stress at parturition was related to the ability of the females to make normal hemodynamic adjustments to pregnancy is discussed.