guinea pig labour

Question
hi, my guinea pig was in labour last night and she wasnt doing good at all she had one baby which was still born so we took her to the vet and two more still borns appeard they told us we could take her home and keep her warm but she wasnt moving jus wimpering then in the morning she had what looked like a fit and passed away, i just need to know why she had past i read on about the after birth and that there should be one for every babie but only two after births came out could another afterbirth have been in there and she died from that in the morning before she past she was giving signs that she was trying to push something out.

thanks

Answer
Hi Lesley,

I'm so sorry for your loss. It must be heartbreaking to not only be without the babies you were expecting, but also the beloved mother.

She almost certainly died because of complications during the birth. If she had three stillborns, and delivered only two after-births, this is almost certainly the root of the problem. Vets are notoriously bad with guinea pigs (unfortunately) and if they were more competent, your girl may have made it. Please don't blame yourself; this is either the fault of the vet, or your girl may simply have been too poorly to have made it through regardless and the vet thought she'd be happier to spend her final few hours at home with you.

I hope you aren't put off keeping guinea pigs again in the future after this sad incident.

Best wishes and if you have any other questions, just ask.

Jenny.