Could being unable to pass a baby make my rabbit ill?

Question
Hello,
My rabbit, Hope isn't herself. She had runny droppings up untill  yesterday, she was hardly eating, her vent area is swollen, and she has lost allot of weight. I phoned a vet and he told me to give her lots of hay, willow twigs, and take her off the pellets. Since then her droppings seem to be normal, and she is eating all the hay I can give her, but I thought crossed my mind today as I was watching her...What if she's trying to pass a baby? You see, she had a baby that was born 6 weeks late (it was dead, of course), last month. It took her forever to pass it and it almost killed her, but she seemed to pull threw. Well my question is, do you think it's possible that she's carrying an other dead baby and she just can't pass it because it's too large or some thing so that's why she's ill? This is probably a dumb question, but I didn't think there was any harm in just asking.
 Thank you for your time.

Answer
Dear Emily,

It's not a dumb question at all.  The symptoms of runny stool and then ileus PLUS the swollen vet could mean that she has a baby in her uterus.  I would get her to a rabbit-savvy  vet as soon as you can for a full exam.  A good, experienced vet should be able to palpate her uterus and see if there's anything abnormal to note.

It would be wise for you to have her spayed if she's deemed a good surgical candidate.  She might also have suffered a uterine infection after the birth, or other problem of the uterus/reproductive tract.  Unspayed, unbred female rabbits have a very high incidence of uterine adenocarcinmoa, and your bunny will be much happier and healthier if she is spayed.  Please read:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/spay.html

You can find a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Hope this helps.

Dana