Jimi had just arrived the hospital after he heard the exciting news of the birth of his son. Elated, he dashed to his wife’s room but became surprised that he could not find the baby there. “The baby is in the intensive care unit,” Remi said, crying. Doctor had told her the baby did not cry until after 15 minutes and had to be placed in the neonatal intensive care unit for optimal care.
Birth asphyxia may not be a term you commonly hear, but it is a condition most women are aware of. Birth asphyxia occurs when a baby’s brain and other organs do not receive sufficient amounts of oxygen and nutrients during birth or as soon as they are born. When this happens, the body uses other means to make energy, releasing dangerous waste products in the process, which can cause irreversible damage or even death.
Delay in crying is often associated with birth asphyxia because that first cry helps to stimulate the lungs to draw in its first breathe outside the womb, and this sets the stage for the baby to survive outside the womb. If this crucial event takes too long, it could cause life-threatening low levels of oxygen for the newborn.
What could cause birth asphyxia?
There are some conditions that can cause birth asphyxia. These include:
Placental Problems: Placental emergencies such as abruption, where the placenta tears off from the womb is an emergency, as it both compromises the flow of blood and oxygen to the baby and puts the mother at risk of severe bleeding.
Cord round the neck: This is also an emergency. During labor, doctors and midwives sometimes find that the umbilical cord wraps around the baby’s neck, constricting the airways in the process. If the cord is not unwrapped immediately, the interrupted oxygen flow through the airways could lead to irreversible damage in the newborn’s body.
Other conditions that could potentially cause birth asphyxia include:
Signs and Symptoms of Birth Asphyxia
Besides the silence of the baby right after birth, other signs to indicate that a baby may be asphyxiated include:
Doctors also use a score called the APGAR score to rate the health of the baby right after delivery; the lower this score, the more likely the baby is asphyxiated. APGAR stands for:
The lower the baby scores in each factor, the more likely the baby has birth asphyxia.
Treatment of Birth Asphyxia
Treatment of birth asphyxia depends on its severity. In mild to moderate forms, after the baby is resuscitated, the baby may recover fully without any permanent damage. Common ways to resuscitate the baby include:
In severe cases, treatment include:
Birth asphyxia is a serious condition that could range from mild to severe. While mild forms and some cases of moderate asphyxia resolve without permanent damage in the child, severe forms of birth asphyxia often lead to permanent brain damage. Attend regular antenatal visits and speak to your midwife or doctor if you have any concerns about your pregnancy.
