Midwife to Pregnant Sow?

Question
So my sow is going to give birth any day now, but I'm rather worried. For one her stomach is a lot larger than what my other sow looked like the day she gave birth to 5 guinea pigs in her litter. This one now is considerably more pregnant looking. So I'm worried she may have 7-8 guinea pigs which brings me to the question--should I help with her childbirth or would that stress her out too much? I'm just very worried. She's about 6-8 months (I adopted her) and with her first litter. So the age is also a concern for me. To sum it all up: Should I be potentially involved to remove the membranes over the nose of the babies etc if needed?

Answer
Hi Vanessa,

    Your sow's age is actually ideal for her first birth.  Her pelvic bones should have no problem separating for a large amount of guinea pigs to pass through.

    She may, however, need some assistance if it seems like she is not getting to all of her babies during birth.  She should be able to get them out herself, but if it looks to you like she is leaving some in the amniotic sac while tending to other pups, it is definately time for you to help out.

    You can do this by gently taking the baby and very carefully pinching the amniotic sac off of the babies. Afterwards, you must gently rub them down with two fingers to get them breathing.  You will also need to remove the umbilical cord.  I feel that this website will go into detail be able to answer any other questions you have about helping your female out.  I refer to it often:

http://www.guinealynx.info/labor.html

    Thank you for your question, I hope I was of some help to you.  If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to ask.  Good luck with your guinea pigs =)

                                         - Nicole