What to do if a newborn aspirates meconium

Meconium aspiration syndrome refers to a syndrome in which the fetus inhales amniotic fluid contaminated with meconium in the uterus or during delivery, resulting in airway obstruction, lung inflammation and a series of systemic symptoms. After birth, respiratory distress appears as the main symptom, accompanied by damage to other organs. It is more common in full-term and post-term infants. So what should we do if a newborn baby inhales meconium? The following article will give us a detailed introduction. Friends who want to know more about this aspect, please come and take a look with me.

1. Intrauterine distress: Large amounts of amniotic fluid and meconium aspiration can occur during the initiation and delivery stages of labor, before it starts. It is generally believed that MAS is related to fetal distress. When the fetus suffers asphyxia and acute or chronic hypoxemia in the uterus or during delivery, the body's blood flow is redistributed and the blood flow to the intestine and skin is reduced, resulting in intestinal ischemia and spasm, relaxation of the anal sphincter, and excretion of meconium. The incidence of meconium-stained amniotic fluid in live births is approximately 12% to 21.9%. Hypoxia stimulates the fetal respiratory center, causing the respiratory movement to gradually change from irregular to strong gasps, which inhales meconium into the nasopharynx and trachea. The effective breathing of the fetus after delivery causes the meconium in the upper respiratory tract to be inhaled into the lungs. Post-term infants are more likely to develop MAS than full-term infants due to the increased maturity of the enteric nervous system and intestinal peptide levels as well as poor placental function.

2. Fetal maturity: Current data do not fully support the correlation between MAS and fetal intrauterine distress. Indicators such as fetal heart rate changes, Apgar scores, and fetal scalp blood pH do not show a correlation with meconium staining of amniotic fluid. However, according to the fact that the risk of MAS increases with gestational age, it is suggested that intrauterine meconium excretion is related to the development and maturation of the fetal parasympathetic nerves and the reflex regulation after umbilical cord compression, and meconium excretion also reflects a natural phenomenon brought about by the development and maturation of the fetal digestive tract. When the fetus is stimulated (squeezed, umbilical cord tied, suffocated, acidosis, etc.), the fetal anal sphincter relaxes and excretes meconium into the amniotic fluid. At the same time, the fetus reflexively begins to take deep breaths, inhaling contaminated amniotic fluid and meconium into the airway and lungs.

3. Under normal circumstances, fetal distress during labor maintains lung secretion to keep lung fluid flowing toward the amniotic sac. The actual amplitude of the fetal intrauterine respiratory movement is very small. Even if a small amount of meconium enters the amniotic fluid, it will not be inhaled into the lungs in large quantities. However, in the later stages of pregnancy, as the amniotic fluid decreases and labor begins to stimulate the fetus, the fetus may show signs of distress and inhale it into the lungs.

What should I do if my newborn baby aspirates meconium? I believe that everyone has a certain understanding through the above article content. For children who have recovered from treatment, if they do not have severe cerebral hypoxia, most lung inflammation can be completely absorbed. Children are more susceptible to respiratory tract infections, so they need careful care and feeding after discharge to increase resistance and prevent infection.