When Deborah Nabatanzi, a resident of Kangave village in Luwero district, noticed that her cow had delivered but the afterbirth had not come out even after several days, she became worried.
“It has been almost a week since the calf was born, but the placenta has not yet dropped,” she says.
“Will this affect my cow? And what treatment is needed?”
According to Peter Mubiru, a veterinary doctor, afterbirth complications should never be ignored.
“Normally, after a cow gives birth, the placenta, or afterbirth, should be expelled within 12 hours,” Mubiru explains.
“If it remains attached after a day, we call this a retained placenta, and it requires immediate veterinary attention.”
Mubiru warns that a retained placenta can lead to serious health risks.
“The retained tissue can begin to rot, causing a foul-smelling discharge from the birth canal,” he says.
“Even worse, the cow may develop a severe fever due to infection, which could become fatal if untreated.”
The consequences do not end there. A cow that suffers from a retained placenta often struggles to conceive again and typically produces less milk than expected, leading to significant financial loss for farmers, he explains.
Treatment options include administering special medicines to help the cow expel the placenta, but Mubiru cautions that only qualified veterinary doctors should handle these drugs.
“Sometimes, the vet may also need to manually remove the placenta by carefully inserting a hand into the uterus to detach it,” he adds.
Antibiotics are usually prescribed to prevent or manage infections.
For farmers in remote areas without immediate veterinary access, Mubiru offers a word of caution.
“Some try tying a small stone, weighing less than half a kilogramme, to the hanging placenta to encourage it to fall,” he says.
“However, this method is risky because if the weight is too much, it can tear the uterus.”
Prevention is better than cure. Mubiru advises maintaining strict hygiene and providing balanced nutrition to pregnant cows to reduce the risk of retained placenta.
“If more than 7% of your cows experience this problem, it could point to deeper issues like infectious diseases or nutritional deficiencies, and you should seek expert advice.”
Mubiru notes that sometimes the placenta may have been expelled unnoticed, eaten by dogs or even the cow itself, so farmers must observe carefully before sounding the alarm.
