Your baby may then breathe the meconium and amniotic fluid mixture into their lungs shortly before, during, or right after birth. This is known as meconium aspiration or meconium aspiration syndrome MAS. Although MAS is often not life-threatening, it can cause significant health complications for your newborn.
And, if MAS is severe or untreated, it can be fatal. MAS may occur when your baby experiences stress. Stress often results when the amount of oxygen available to the fetus is reduced.
Common causes of fetal stress include:. As pregnancy progresses to term and beyond, the amount of amniotic fluid is also decreased, which concentrates the meconium. As a result, MAS is more common in overdue newborns as compared to term newborns. MAS is rare in preterm newborns. Respiratory distress is the most prominent symptom of MAS. Your infant may breathe rapidly or grunt during breathing. Some newborns may stop breathing if their airways are blocked by meconium.
Your baby may also exhibit the following symptoms:. There are a few methods commonly used to confirm the diagnosis:. If MAS occurs, your newborn will need immediate treatment to remove the meconium from the upper airway.
After delivery, your doctor will immediately suction the nose, mouth, and throat. Symptoms Bluish skin color in the infant Breathing problems Dark, greenish staining or streaking of the amniotic fluid or the obvious presence of meconium in the amniotic fluid Limpness in infant at birth Diagnosis Before birth, the fetal monitor may show a slow heart rate. At birth, meconium can be seen in the amniotic fluid. The most accurate test to check for possible meconium aspiration involves looking for meconium staining on the vocal cords with a laryngoscope.
Abnormal breath sounds, especially coarse, crackly sounds, are heard through a stethoscope. A blood gas analysis shows low blood acidity, decreased oxygen and increased carbon dioxide. A chest X-ray may show patchy or streaky areas on the lungs. This can happen when babies are "under stress" due to a decrease in blood and oxygen supply. This is often due to problems with the placenta or the umbilical cord.
Once the baby passes the meconium into the surrounding amniotic fluid, they may breathe it into the lungs. This may happen:. The meconium can also block the infant's airways right after birth.
It can cause breathing problems due to swelling inflammation in the baby's lungs after birth. Most babies who have passed meconium into the amniotic fluid do not breathe it into their lungs during labor and delivery. They are unlikely to have any symptoms or problems. Before birth, the fetal monitor may show a slow heart rate. During delivery or at birth, meconium can be seen in the amniotic fluid and on the infant.
The infant may need help with breathing or heartbeat right after birth. They may have a low Apgar score. The health care team will listen to the infant's chest with a stethoscope.
This may reveal abnormal breath sounds, especially coarse, crackly sounds. A special care team should be present when the baby is born if traces of meconium are found in the amniotic fluid.
If the baby is active and crying, no treatment is needed. For the first few days, when babies pass stool, the meconium is passed out of their body. Around day three to five, a baby's bowel movements turn to yellow, seedy stools. Meconium ileus occurs when meconium acts like a plug and blocks part of the intestine gut of a baby. Babies with meconium ileus:. Any baby who has not passed stool for the first 24 hours, or a baby who is developing vomiting and distension enlargement of the tummy in the first few days of life, needs to see a doctor immediately.
Meconium aspiration syndrome is a condition in which a baby develops problems breathing because the baby inhaled meconium into the lungs while still in the womb at the very end of the pregnancy or during the delivery. Some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery and do not develop MAS or any other problems.
However, in those babies who do develop MAS, it can be mild or it can be very serious and life-threatening.
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