Green: Just A Color; Not A Danger Signal
by: Myra Harris
There is a great deal of misunderstanding about the color green in the field of the canine whelping experience. This failure to understand what the color green is, and what the color means, is widely misunderstood by everyone from the first time dog breeder eagerly awaiting the first litter, to the most experienced of all dog breeders. It extends into the veterinary community as well.
The reason for this misunderstanding is that in this area, as in so many other areas of animal husbandry, we have confused what happens in the human community with what happens in the canine community and have assumed that because the color green in a human delivery is a danger sign, it is a danger sign in the canine community as well. It isn’t. So first thing we need to do is find out what the color green means in a human delivery, why it is a danger signal and why that signal does not correlate with canine whelping. So let’s compare and contrast for few minute and see if we can’t begin to understand the complexities behind the color green and why it has very little impact in the life of the dog breeder.
The misunderstanding focuses on the words “meconium”, “placenta” and on the differences between births involving a single human infant being discharged from a single uterus versus a litter of multiples being discharged from two uterine horns. So, let’s look at the human situation first.
As a human baby grows within the uterus, he swallows his amniotic fluid and over time that, combined with the contents of his bowel (old sloughed off cells), form the material called “meconium”. In the human, it looks dark black on a diaper but is actually a dark, dark greenish brown. If the baby has a neurological event of some sort he can release the contents of his bowel (meconium) into his amniotic fluid and those contents will turn the amniotic fluid green. The baby has lost consciousness for a period of time. These episodes can range in severity from a mild, one-time event during delivery to severe with multiple episodes over the length of his gestation, often resulting in lifelong neurological deficits. Of course, when amniotic fluid is green in the human, the first question everyone asks is: What caused the baby to lose consciousness? What is wrong with his central nervous system? What is his prognosis? The presence of meconium (green) in a human delivery is a sign that at some time, to some degree, this baby has suffered from neurological stress or trauma. Serious questions arise as to his life, his death, his deficits, and the quality of his life…all serious issues.
Meanwhile as mom is in labor, the baby’s placenta has begun to deteriorate and her vaginal discharge is about the same color as the placenta. Human placentas look rather like liver with more of a venous structure. Mostly red, some pink. That is what a placenta looks like and this is what the vaginal discharge will be; pink to bright red. The ideal placement for the placenta within the uterus is at the top of the uterus. It is attached to the uterus and is only connected to the baby by the umbilical cord. In summary: Human placentas/vaginal discharge is pink to bright red. When the baby is finally delivered, his body may have some blood, some pinkish or red fluids on it. Human meconium is light green to pea soup green and is not present at all in the majority of human deliveries. We do not see that color in every delivery. Now let’s look at the canine system in order to compare and contrast.
As the canine baby grows within the two uterine horns of his mother, he swallows amniotic fluid and old intestinal cells that have sloughed off. He too forms meconium in his bowel. His meconium is not green. There is not even a tinge of green associated with canine meconium. It is, in fact, yellow/brown and looks almost exactly like mustard. It is usually contained within the amniotic sac as the baby is whelped. It will sometimes stain the puppy a yellow, mustard like color, but this is fairly unusual. As in the human delivery, it is fairly unusual to see meconium. In the puppy pen when the puppy has his first poops, the meconium looks black to brown but it is actually a deep brownish color with a lot of yellow in it. If you have a puppy with stuff that looks like mustard in his amniotic sac, this puppy will require close observation because he may not be neurologically intact and healthy. He may also have only experienced a brief, one-time event and be perfectly fine, but you will want to use your best observation skills with any puppy who has mustard looking stuff in his amniotic sac.
The canine placenta, on the other hand, has a great deal of green on it. There is actually a name for that green color. It is called “uteroverdin” and is a reference to the color of the canine placenta. The actual placenta of the canine is a deep shade of green. As whelping time approaches the placentas begin their process of deterioration and begin to loosen from their location. Just as in the human delivery, the vaginal discharge of mom is most closely aligned with the color of the placentas, which in the case of the canine…is green. Each puppy has his own individual placenta, which he wears like a wide, thick belt around his mid section. As his delivery approaches, he begins to loosen from the placenta and the placenta begins to deteriorate and release its color: green. This is an exact counter part of the human delivery with the primary difference being the difference in the color of the placenta, which leads to the difference in the color of the vaginal discharge. In humans: pink to red; in the canine light green to dark green.
In summary: Vaginal discharge in the canine is always green to one degree or another. Always. It is normal. It is to be expected. It is a sign that delivery is to be expected within 24-48 hours, usually sooner. It is not a dangerous thing. It is not a danger signal. It is normal. It is business as usual. It should be expected in each delivery sooner or later.
