Relationship of fetal position within the uterus to fetal weight, placental weight, testosterone, estrogens, and thymosin beta 4 concentrations at 70 and 104 days of gestation in swine.

Fetal intrauterine position relative to the sex of adjacent fetuses has an effect on reproductive performance in rodents. An experiment was conducted to determine whether sex of adjacent fetuses in utero has an influence on fetal and placental weights and whether the hormonal mechanisms documented in rodents are similar in fetal pigs. Sows were slaughtered at 70.1 +/- 1.7 d (n = 123) and 104.5 +/- .05 d (n = 135) of gestation. The fetuses and placentas were removed from the uterus and the position and sex of each fetus was recorded to indicate whether the fetus was between two males, two females, or a male and a female. Fetal blood was sampled for later hormonal analysis. At 70 d of gestation, male fetal and placental weights were heavier than those of females (P less than .05), but no differences were detected relative to the sex of adjacent fetuses. At 104 d of gestation, a fetus surrounded on each side in utero by fetuses of the opposite sex (two males or two females) was lighter in weight than a fetus surrounded by fetuses of the same sex (P less than .01). Differences in fetal weight due to the sex of adjacent fetuses were not related to placental function because placental weights were generally not different at 104 d of gestation. By 104 d of gestation, most placentas were not separated by necrotic regions and were in close apposition with surrounding placentas. No differences in growth or development could be related to hormonal effects (testosterone, estrone, or estrone sulfate) from surrounding fetuses.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)