Endocrine Abstracts

Dairy cows normally calve for the first time when not yet fully grown. Subsequent pregnancies occur during lactation. Therefore in primiparous (PP) cows the fetus competes for nutrients with maternal growth, while in multiparous (MP) cows they compete with milk production. Human epidemiological studies demonstrate that low birth weight can predispose offspring to a variety of metabolic diseases in adult life. This study investigated the hypothesis that such competition limits ...