How to prevent neonatal apnea

Now we see many reports that newborns have neonatal sleep apnea. Many people may find this disease scary when they first hear about it. In fact, neonatal sleep apnea is a very common condition. It can easily occur if the care is not good. So what should we do to prevent neonatal sleep apnea? Let us introduce it to you below.

1. Observe the newborn baby more often: Pay more attention to the breathing of newborn babies, especially premature babies. Pay attention to the depth and rhythm of his breathing, his heartbeat, pulse rate and complexion. When the baby's breathing is normal, we can see his chest and abdomen rise and fall rhythmically, and his complexion is rosy, but if the baby's chest and abdomen suddenly become motionless, and then his face becomes pale or cyanotic, be alert to whether the baby has respiratory arrest.

2. Pay attention to maintaining a suitable temperature: Since the temperature regulation center of newborns is not yet mature and the temperature regulation function is poor, the body temperature is easily changed with the changes in the ambient temperature. When the temperature is too high or too low, it may cause premature babies to have fever or hypothermia, causing secondary respiratory apnea. Therefore, the indoor temperature of the baby room should be appropriate, preferably controlled at 24~28℃, and the humidity should be maintained at 50~65%. When the outside temperature is relatively low, pay attention to keeping the baby warm. When the outside temperature is too high, pay attention to cooling down the baby, loosen the quilt for the baby, and pay attention to feeding more warm boiled water.

3. The body position should be appropriate during feeding: The digestive function of newborns is not yet perfect. In addition, the stomach of newborns is in a horizontal position, and the upper and lower sphincters are not fully developed. If the body position is not appropriate during feeding, it is easy to cause the contents to reflux into the esophagus, blocking the trachea and causing respiratory apnea. Therefore, when feeding him, you must be especially careful not to choke him. When he cries loudly, it is best to comfort him and calm him down before feeding him. After feeding, hold the child upright, gently pat him to burp the milk, and lie on his right side with his upper body raised to prevent the baby from spitting up milk and causing aspiration, which may lead to respiratory apnea.

4. Prevent infection: Newborns, especially premature babies, have low resistance, and infection can induce or aggravate the occurrence of sleep apnea. Therefore, it is also very important to prevent infection in babies. Mom and dad must wash their hands before touching the baby, especially after coming back from outside. They must change clothes and wash their hands before touching the child. Special attention should be paid to prevent people with infectious diseases from coming into contact with the newborn baby, and pay attention to keeping the indoor air circulating.

If some parents encounter neonatal sleep apnea, first of all, don't panic, calm down, you can pat the newborn's back, tap his feet, or shake his shoulders and chest to stimulate his breathing and restore normal breathing. At the same time, pay attention to keeping his airway open. I hope every baby grows up healthily.