Impact of intermittent prolonged asphyxia in rat sucklings on growth and development

Each of four litters of newborn rats was categorized first by sex and then within each litter, each sex-specific group was randomized into three treatment groups: an experimental (asphyxiated on 4 consecutive days from birth), a partial control (asphyxiated once on the fourth day of life), and a control group (never asphyxiated). Asphyxiation was carried out by enclosing pups individually in air tight fixed volume jars until they attained 30 second apnea. Weight and physical and reflex development of the rat pups were assessed daily. The data was analyzed by using ANOVA and ANCOVA to adjust for birth weight.