Monitoring pregnant livestock for nutritional status, body condition, and disease is critical welfare practice that determines welfare outcomes for both mother and offspring.
Pregnancy welfare monitoring prevents suffering that accumulates silently: a ewe developing pregnancy toxaemia without intervention progresses over days from mild depression to recumbency and death. Daily monitoring during late pregnancy catches early signs when treatment is most effective. Body condition monitoring earlier in pregnancy allows nutritional adjustment before deficit becomes crisis. The welfare investment in pregnancy monitoring is relatively modest compared to the welfare harm it prevents — both for the individual and for the offspring whose early life welfare is determined by maternal nutrition.