Vaginal stricture as an unusual case of dystocia in a dairy cow

Dystocia (difficult birth) is a relatively common occurrence in bovine reproduction. In one study on dairy farms in the USA 51.2% heifers and 29.4% of cows required assistance at parturition.¹Causes include abnormalities of the birth canal such as a narrow vagina. This is a report of a case of a stricture in the caudal vagina in a multiparous Friesian/Holstein cow leading to dystocia and delivery of the fetus by cesarean section. To the author’s knowledge, a vaginal stricture (‘pseudocervix’) has not been reported as a cause of dystocia in cattle.