Why did the green water break? Green waters during childbirth

The first sign of the imminent onset of labor is the release of amniotic fluid. If, a day after this event, labor does not occur, you should go to a medical facility without expecting contractions to occur.

Assessing the state of amniotic fluid is an important diagnostic point in labor management.

It is believed that their color should be transparent. The presence of a greenish tint in them indicates a problem, so you should definitely inform your gynecologist about this.

Many pregnant women ask questions about the cause of green water and what it means for the fetus. Let's try to figure it out.

Green waters during childbirth: causes and consequences

Nowadays, green waters during childbirth are quite common. Only a gynecologist who observes a woman during pregnancy can determine the exact reasons why the amniotic fluid acquires a greenish tint.

Why are there green waters during childbirth?

It is not possible to find out absolutely exactly why green waters appear every time. However, a list of common factors influencing the occurrence of green water has been compiled. Often the cause of this phenomenon can be fetal hypoxia, infectious diseases suffered by a woman during pregnancy, and many other factors.

Causes of green waters during childbirth

Fetal hypoxia

. Due to oxygen starvation, the child involuntarily contracts the muscles of the anus, which causes fetal feces to be released into the womb. For this reason, amniotic fluid acquires a greenish tint.

Post-term pregnancy

. The main source of nutrients and oxygen for the baby is the placenta. By the end of pregnancy, it loses its original qualities, and the baby does not receive enough nutrients and oxygen. As mentioned above, a lack of oxygen leads to hypoxia, which means meconium (original fetal feces) is released, and the waters turn green.

Infectious diseases

. During pregnancy, a woman can be a carrier of various types of infections. For example, these could be genital and urinary tract infections, colds and respiratory diseases.

Poor nutrition

. There is a version that if the regime and diet are violated, the water may appear green. However, the overwhelming majority of doctors claim that there is no cause-and-effect relationship.

Genetic diseases of the fetus

. In rare cases, the green color of amniotic fluid occurs in genetic diseases of the child. But, as a rule, this factor appears infrequently.

Stress for the future newborn

. Any birth, early or late, entails a series of stressful moments for the baby. Therefore, you should not be surprised if the child suddenly experiences involuntary passage of meconium. In particular, according to some statistics, a similar phenomenon occurs in approximately 30% of births and does not bode well.

Knowing the reasons for the occurrence of green water during labor is necessary if you plan to become pregnant again in the future. However, it should be understood that any new pregnancy always proceeds completely differently.

Often after the end of labor, when a woman hears that the amniotic fluid is green, she has questions: what does this mean, why did this happen and what does this mean in the future?

Of course, the appearance of green waters does not mean anything good. During childbirth, the baby may swallow liquids containing toxic substances, after which complications may occur. Very often, when the water breaks in a green color and in the absence of labor, doctors send the woman for a caesarean section, since the child is starved of oxygen and his life is in danger.

There are times when the fetus’s first stool is passed during the birth process itself, because the child has experienced great stress. In this case, he was in an unsafe environment for a minimum of time, and the likelihood of complications for him was minimal.

The discharge of green amniotic fluid is not the most important criterion by which the health and general well-being of the newborn is assessed. There are often cases where children born with the discharge of green waters have very good health and also score 8-9 points on the Apgar scale, which is a good or even excellent indicator. In some cases, on the contrary, the broken water may be of a normal, transparent color, but the baby may experience some health problems.

Every pregnancy and birth is different, so there is no single formula for determining the cause and effects of green waters. In post-term pregnancy, the water may break completely clear. The absence of hypoxia in the fetus can result in the discharge of green water, and with oxygen starvation, the amniotic fluid can be transparent. Even if your pregnancy proceeds absolutely normally, without any problems or complications, there is a chance that the amniotic fluid will be green.

The doctor must remember that his initial task is to competently manage the birth and prevent any complications. If a situation suddenly arises in which the baby's airways are clogged with green water, they must be removed as soon as the head appears in order to prevent meconium from entering the baby's lungs during his first breath. To carry out this manipulation, the obstetrician will have to stop pushing and perform aspiration of the newborn's airways.

We wish that everything goes well with your child, no matter what the color of the amniotic fluid is at birth.

Fine

amniotic fluid is light, transparent, and may have a small amount of impurities that appear no earlier than the second trimester. Towards the end of pregnancy, they may become more cloudy, the amount of impurities increases: the amniotic fluid contains vernix lubrication from the skin of the fetus and vellus hair.

dangerous

A change in the color and transparency of the amniotic fluid indicates the development of a pathological condition and requires additional examination!

Blood test for antibodies;
STI screening;
Cardiography;

Major changes in the color of amniotic fluid

Bright yellow color
. As a rule, this indicates either incompatibility of mother and fetus in blood groups. This pathology is dangerous for the child, can lead to a number of complications and requires mandatory treatment in a hospital;
Green coloring
. Detection of green amniotic fluid is a sign of fetal hypoxia and requires urgent treatment;
Light color with red veins
. This coloration is a variant of the norm at the onset of labor and is associated with its micro-tears;
Red color
. This coloration of the water is a sign of the development of bleeding for a number of reasons (,) and requires urgent hospitalization of the woman.

Green amniotic fluid

Additionally

Green coloration of amniotic fluid is not an independent pathology; it should be considered as the first symptom of the development of intrauterine fetal hypoxia.

With oxygen deficiency, a reflex contraction of the anal sphincter occurs, and the release of original feces (meconium) from the rectum, which leads to a change in the color of the amniotic fluid. During normal pregnancy, meconium is released only after the birth of the child.

The main reasons for the development of intrauterine fetal hypoxia and changes in the color of amniotic fluid

Bad habits of the mother;
Chronic diseases of the mother (pathologies of the cardiovascular system, diabetes mellitus, kidney disease, anemia);
Infectious diseases of any localization;
Multiple pregnancy;
Severe form of late gestosis;
Incompatibility of fetus and mother for Rh and blood group.

Symptoms and diagnosis

The most common symptoms of oxygen deficiency are changes in the baby's movements and heartbeat.

At the beginning of the development of the pathological process, the fetus begins to move more actively and violently, trying to compensate for the lack of oxygen. If left untreated, the child's condition worsens, which leads to a slowdown in motor activity.

During examination and auscultation with a stethoscope, the doctor may detect a violation of the heart rate: at the initial stages, compensatory tachycardia occurs (heart rate increases more than 180 beats per minute), then a slowdown in heart sounds develops (bradycardia).

To clarify the diagnosis and find out the cause of fetal oxygen deficiency, a woman is prescribed

The approaching moment of delivery is indicated not only by contractions, but also by the discharge of amniotic fluid. They can simply leak or, conversely, literally “gushing out”, it doesn’t matter. What is important is what color they are, because throughout the entire period of pregnancy they ensure the vital activity of the fetus, supplying it with nutrition and providing it with protection.

Ideally, they are transparent. Meanwhile, red, yellowish and green waters are sometimes found. We'll talk about the latter today. So, green waters during childbirth: causes and consequences.

Normally, amniotic fluid drains during the first period of labor, that is, when the cervix has not yet dilated by 4 to 5 fingers. This indicates the beginning of the stage of expulsion of the fetus and the need for a trip to the hospital if the mother is still at home. It is good if these waters are clear, sometimes with a small amount of whitish flakes, and have no odor. This indicates that the pregnancy proceeded without any abnormalities.

Cloudy, or worse, dark green waters indicate that something has gone wrong. Subsequently, taking them into account, the condition of the newborn is assessed, however, the color of the liquid is not the key factor in this matter.

According to statistics, green amniotic fluid is observed in 30% of women in labor. If it has an unpleasant odor, the presence of diseases of the urinary tract and genital organs in the mother is suspected.

If the bladder does not open and the water does not break, doctors make a puncture. In rare cases, the baby is born with a bladder. Then he is called lucky, mentioning “birth in a shirt,” meanwhile, this only happens if the baby survives. After all, this phenomenon is accompanied by placental abruption and is a consequence of emerging pathologies.

During childbirth, the child swallowed amniotic fluid: consequences and treatment

If the baby takes his first breath before he is born, amniotic fluid ends up in his respiratory or digestive system.

Doctors need time to free the baby’s nose and mouth from fluid and, if necessary, perform resuscitation, intubation and bronchial lavage.

The health of the child in this case depends not only on the professionalism of the obstetricians, but also on the condition of the amniotic fluid that he swallowed.

What is amniotic fluid and why is it needed?

Amniotic fluid, or amniotic fluid, is the habitat of the fetus, which performs protective and nutritional functions. It creates a soft buffer that protects the child from injury, noise, light, provides temperature control, and supplies the fetus with nutrients.

During the birth process, amniotic fluid comes out reflexively as the cervix dilates. Small deviations in the water discharge schedule do not affect the health of the mother and child. In case of early loss of water, contractions are stimulated to prevent infection of the child’s body, which is deprived of a protective environment. In cases where the drainage of water is delayed, the fruit bladder is punctured.

How does it happen that a substance so friendly to nascent life turns into a threat to the child? A situation where a child has swallowed amniotic fluid can pose a danger only in cases where this affects his health - the respiratory process is disrupted, and an infection of the body occurs. Aspiration of green water that is harmful to health occurs mainly during complicated labor or as a result of stress in the baby, who, for unforeseen reasons, takes an early breath or swallows.

Why are they sometimes green?

The atypical composition of amniotic fluid is detected after its discharge, except in cases where, for medical reasons, fluid tests are taken before birth. Normally, it should be transparent with small cotton flecks.

The presence of blood particles may indicate early delivery of the placenta.

All other atypical signs - dark color, usually greenish, a pungent odor, indicate the presence of harmful impurities in the waters, which cause problems when swallowed and inhaled.

Reasons for the green color of amniotic fluid:

premature release of meconium, the baby’s first stool, which can occur as a result of oxygen deprivation or other stress factors;
infections suffered by the mother during pregnancy;
oxygen starvation of the fetus;
in the rarest cases, the atypical color of the amniotic fluid indicates genetic pathologies of the child.

According to statistical estimates, in one third of births, meconium enters the amniotic fluid, most often this occurs during labor.

The green color is an alarm bell for doctors, who must, to the best of their ability, prevent the child from swallowing them.

Therefore, if the water breaks at home, it is necessary to pay attention to its color and smell in order to inform doctors in advance.

To reduce the risk of aspiration, healthcare providers may decide to remove amniotic fluid in advance using suction. Sometimes the nasopharynx cleansing procedure is carried out immediately after the baby’s head appears.

Consequences for the child

If a child has swallowed green amniotic fluid, a gastrointestinal reaction may occur, which manifests itself in diarrhea, indigestion and lack of appetite.

In serious cases, when a large number of pathogens enter the stomach, an infection of the gastrointestinal tract develops, which without adequate treatment becomes chronic.

Damage to the respiratory system during aspiration of meconium leads to oxygen starvation, and in severe cases, to pneumonia.

Timely recognition of the entry of atypical fluid into the child’s organs allows one to take medical measures that minimize the consequences, guaranteeing recovery and normal development. If a baby has swallowed water at birth, immediate gastric cleansing is carried out, which prevents pathogens from entering the intestinal tract, reducing the likelihood of infection.

If aspiration occurs, tracheal intubation, oxygen therapy, and antibiotics are administered. In mild cases, an infant who has swallowed amniotic fluid is monitored in the hospital for 2-3 days. If necessary, he is placed in the intensive care unit, providing adequate life support until full recovery.

What to do if a child swallows water?

The first rule for women in labor who find out that the baby has swallowed water and is lying in an incubator is to restore their own mental balance. Trust in doctors and a positive attitude will help preserve breast milk, which is necessary to protect the child’s weakened body. The emotional state of the mother is transmitted to the baby, giving him the strength necessary for a quick recovery.

It is necessary to find the line between panic and vigilance. Children who have undergone resuscitation require special care; it will take a lot of time and patience to restore their adaptive functions. Consequences in the form of reduced immunity and appetite disorders can persist throughout the entire infant period.

In rare cases, the fact of swallowing or inhaling amniotic fluid may go unnoticed at birth and appear later - during the first month of life. Signs of a latent infection may include abnormal regurgitation, lack of appetite, constant coughing, and noisy breathing. Such symptoms should be the basis for an out-of-hours pediatric examination.

Source: https://www.OldLekar.ru/rody/process/rebenok-naglotalsya-okoloplodnyh-vod.html

Causes

Recently, the number of women in labor who experienced green water during childbirth has increased. Gynecologists call this a dangerous trend and indicate several reasons that could lead to this outcome, namely:

aging of the placenta and post-maturity of the fetus;
infection of amniotic fluid due to sexually transmitted infections, colds, urinary tract infections, bronchitis and pneumonia, especially those suffered in the third trimester;
increased risk of developing hypoxia, or oxygen deficiency in the womb;
rarely the presence of genetic abnormalities of the fetus;
umbilical cord entanglement;
placental insufficiency;
nutritional features - it is worth noting that not all doctors agree with this statement, meanwhile, some believe that the water turns green after the mother consumes apple juice, peas, and green vegetables;
baby's stress.

In 30% of cases, due to prolonged labor, the child experiences a reflex contraction of the anus, resulting in the release of original feces. It is quite natural that after this the water comes out along with meconium, which turns it green.

What else do green waters mean? That the expectant mother may have a low level of hemoglobin, that an intrauterine infection could develop in her body, and finally, that blood circulation in the tissues of the placenta could be disrupted due to its detachment, for example.

Causes of green water

Usually, after the waters have broken, labor begins, which is accompanied by contractions. The liquid water should be clear and odorless. If meconium enters the fetal bladder, the color of the water becomes black with clots. This is a serious pathology that, without emergency measures, can lead to death of the baby, since meconium is a toxic breakdown product of the fetus’s original feces, and they must be excreted along with the expectant mother’s waste.

When the liquid is green, it indicates the initial stage of hypoxia: if the baby does not have enough oxygen, the anus reflexively contracts, and feces come out directly into the amniotic sac, thereby poisoning the entire internal environment.

Doctors distinguish between hypoxia and infectious diseases suffered by the mother during pregnancy by the color of the water. If the liquid is clear but has an odor, it means that diseases of the urinary tract and genital organs have occurred.

In folk medicine, there is an opinion that ordinary food gives color to waters. For example, apple juice or a green summer salad can affect the color of the fluid filling the amniotic sac. But official medicine takes a different point of view, believing that food has no effect on the quality of water during childbirth.

Why green waters during childbirth are also answered by psychologists, who believe that for the baby the birth process is stressful on an unconscious level, so it reflexively, and not because it suffers from hypoxia, compresses the anus, causing meconium to be thrown out.

What are the dangers and consequences for the child?

The appearance of green amniotic fluid is, first of all, not good for the baby. Needless to say, the same infections or oxygen deprivation that could have caused the water to become discolored can be harmful to his health.

The consequences of hypoxia directly depend on the degree of its severity. Mild, as a rule, is compensated by the baby’s body and goes away almost unnoticed, with the exception of nervousness and increased excitability. It’s not a fact that they will appear, but they can.

What does moderate hypoxia mean? Most likely, a minor developmental delay, which is successfully corrected by therapy. This is why children born with green amniotic fluid are always seen by a neurologist. The worst thing is for those diagnosed with a severe form of hypoxia, because it provokes dysfunction of organs and systems. First of all, the respiratory system suffers. Then, if necessary, resuscitation measures and even artificial ventilation are carried out right in the delivery room.

The outcome of cases where green water breaks due to post-term pregnancy completely depends on the qualifications of the doctor. The sooner he performs a cesarean section, the less likely it is to develop hypoxia. It is also worth noting that in the absence of pronounced signs of oxygen deficiency, green waters pose a danger to the baby only if he has swallowed them. Then there is a possible risk of developing aspiration syndrome due to meconium entering the respiratory system.

It is important to note that it develops only in 1 case out of 100, thanks to qualified medical care and a timely cesarean section. Mothers try to refuse the latter, but in vain. It is not difficult to understand the fears of doctors when a child swallowed green water during birth.

Normally, 10 seconds after birth, the baby takes its first breath along with a cry. At the same time, the lungs open and oxygen-poor blood rushes towards them. What does water with meconium mean for him in this case? That the latter will get into the lungs and endanger the life of the baby. To prevent this from happening, they will first clear his airways, and then only provoke him to scream with a slap on the butt.

In this case, the health and future life of the baby directly depend on the professionalism and speed of work of doctors. By the way, this is one of the reasons why mothers are not recommended to agree to a home birth. In a medical institution, in the event of force majeure situations, it is still safer.

How else are green waters dangerous? Intoxication of a newborn’s body, infection of its respiratory systems and the development of chemical pneumonitis is when part of the lung or an entire organ refuses to breathe, and doctors diagnose respiratory failure.

It is worth noting that the color of the amniotic fluid does not always affect the child’s health. There are cases when children born after the breaking of green water showed excellent performance and received an Apgar score of 8 - 9.

Green waters during childbirth: causes, consequences for the child, photos, why they happen

Sometimes expectant mothers experience green water during childbirth. Most women in labor immediately begin to panic when they see opaque liquid. You shouldn’t do this, because panic can only aggravate the process of the baby’s birth.

Photos: table large diagram baby inside measurements pain observation development pregnant mother drinking

It is the discharge of amniotic fluid that is a sign of the upcoming birth of the baby. Sometimes the fluid comes away on its own, but in some cases the amniotic sac has to be punctured. At this point, doctors discover an unusual state of amniotic fluid.

Usually the woman has clear water. But, if there is any violation, then their color changes. Let's take a closer look at why a woman sometimes has green water during childbirth and how dangerous this is for her and the baby.

Water broke

Reasons for this problem

A good doctor always talks not only about the consequences, but also about the reasons why green water appears during childbirth. For modern obstetric practice, such phenomena are not uncommon, so experts are beginning to talk about an alarming trend. But don't panic if this happens to you.

First you need to find out why you developed green water during childbirth. The reasons for their occurrence are different, but they are not always dangerous to health. By the way, doctors have not yet fully studied this phenomenon, so it is not always possible to reliably find out why women have alarming green waters during childbirth. The following reasons are identified:

the emergence of a danger of hypoxia due to insufficient oxygen in the womb;
the baby’s anus begins to contract, so the original feces are released, which colors the water;
amniotic fluid may change color when the gestational age is longer than normal and the placenta ages;
pathology can develop when during pregnancy a woman suffered from a sexually transmitted or cold infection; inflammation of the bladder, bronchitis and ARVI can cause infection of the intrauterine fluid;
the pathology manifests itself as a result of genetic abnormalities during the development of the baby, but these disorders occur quite rarely;
sometimes the phenomenon is observed due to the stress that the baby has suffered; a tiny child is very susceptible, therefore he can excrete feces, which will color the waters greenish;
another reason for this problem may lie in the diet of the expectant mother; the color changes if the day before she drank apple juice or ate fresh peas, keep in mind that these are only medical assumptions, but they are also worth taking note of.

What actions need to be taken

If your water breaks green during labor, you should call your doctor right away. It is necessary to act immediately, but do not panic, because stress and incorrect actions can cause oxygen starvation in the child. This will cause quite serious harm to the baby. Also find out how to give birth without fear.

When a woman has green water during childbirth, the doctor must clear the airways as soon as the baby's head appears. When the phenomenon happened already during strong contractions, there is no need to worry. Usually in this case a completely healthy child is born.

In such situations, the doctor must perform a CTG on the woman and listen to the fetal heartbeat in order to notice possible hypoxia in time. When a child suffers, obstetricians take all measures to end the birth process as quickly as possible. The most important thing is not to delay when your green water breaks at the very beginning of childbirth.

Under no circumstances should you sit at home and wait for contractions, as there is a risk of intrauterine infection. We urgently need to call a car and go to the maternity hospital.

During pregnancy, it is advisable to find photos of green waters on Internet sites, so as not to be mistaken during childbirth. You will know exactly what they look like and in what case you need to sound the alarm. When amniotic fluid is released, you should try to remember its smell, approximate volume and time of release. This information will need to be provided to the obstetrician who will see you at the maternity hospital.

Start of labor

If you were planning a home birth, but your green or brown water breaks, you will have to seek help from medical professionals. When the amniotic fluid changes color, but the labor process does not begin for a long time, most often the doctor decides on a caesarean section.

What consequences does the problem cause?

First of all, when you go green during childbirth, you need to think about the consequences for the child, which can be quite serious. The fetus constantly interacts with the amniotic fluid for 9 months. During the first months, he absorbs it through the body, and at the end of pregnancy he swallows it with his mouth.

Before birth, the baby pushes fluid out of his mouth, so it no longer enters his lungs. However, if the consequence of green water that appeared during childbirth is hypoxia, the baby may swallow the contaminated liquid. This will affect his health and well-being.

The appearance of green waters

When your baby swallows green amniotic fluid during birth, you urgently need to clear the respiratory causes. However, due to the content of meconium in the liquid, problems with ventilation of the lungs may arise, so the child simply will not be able to take an independent breath.

In this case, immediately after the birth of the baby's head, the doctor stops pushing to clear the airways. Thus, when your water appears green during labor, your baby may develop hypoxia - a lack of oxygen.

The phenomenon can provoke the following consequences:

muscle hypertonicity;
constant unreasonable regurgitation;
anxiety, sleep disturbance;
disorders and delays in child development.

Don’t panic right away, because it’s not a fact that your baby will suffer from the above factors. In many cases, children develop fully and do not experience any complications or abnormalities.

According to statistics, about 1/3 of babies defecate during the birth process because they suffer severe shock. Just imagine, he quietly developed for 9 months and was in the womb, and now he is about to be born.

In this case, feces and amniotic fluid of a non-standard color do not pose any danger to the mother and child. The most important thing is not to delay such an important event, urgently pack your things and go to the hospital.

Find out what a pregnant woman's exchange card looks like.

Urgently show the baby to a neurologist;
Complete all scheduled inspections without exception.

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The information published on the website Sberemennost.ru is read-only and is intended for informational purposes only. Site visitors should not use them as medical advice!

Source: https://sberemennost.ru/birth/info/zelenye-vody-pri-rodah

What to do

What to do if your water breaks green? First of all, calm down and don’t panic, and then take your bags and go to the maternity hospital. Fear, panic, fuss, as well as any delay, increase the risk of developing fetal hypoxia.

In addition, the waters themselves contain immunoglobulins and act as a barrier to the passage of germs and bacteria to the child. If they move away, the barrier disappears, which means that, at best, the risk of decreased immunity in the baby increases, and at worst, the risk of developing an intrauterine infection.

Moreover, immediately after the water breaks, contractions and labor itself may begin. The exact time depends on the characteristics of the woman’s body, as well as previous pregnancies. In the first labor, after the water breaks, labor begins 9–12 hours later, in the second, after 5–6. However, there are exceptions to the rule when labor begins 2–3 hours after the release of amniotic fluid.

It is also important to note what not to do. Under no circumstances should you:

to take a bath;
play sports or expose yourself to any physical activity;
have sex;
use tampons and sanitary pads.

If it is necessary to shave hair from the genitals, you can only use the shower. At the same time, they wash themselves by moving their hand towards the anus, otherwise the entry of microbes into the womb cannot be avoided. If water leaks, use clean cotton cloth instead of gaskets. If more than 200 - 250 ml of fluid has passed, it is important to drop everything and go to the hospital. Why? Most likely, the child did not have time to take the correct position, as a result of which everything spilled out. It is likely that doctors will perform a caesarean section.

If children experience stress before birth, as a result of which the waters turn green, and the mother is already in the delivery room under the strict supervision of specialists, there is no need to worry. Even in the most extreme case, they will carry out a number of measures that will minimize the negative impact of meconium on the body, that is:

How to prevent it?

In order to answer this question, it is necessary to remember why there are green waters and:

follow all doctor’s recommendations, take scheduled tests, undergo the necessary examinations that will allow you to timely identify the infection and get rid of it;
monitor nutrition, which directly affects the mother’s immunity, as well as her hemoglobin level;
If possible, plan your pregnancy. In other words, undergo an examination with your husband before conception and rule out the presence of any diseases.

We figured out what green water looks like during childbirth, why it happens, what it leads to, and how to prevent it. Take note of useful information and share it on social networks. Perhaps right now one of your friends desperately needs it.

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Green waters during childbirth - a fact that makes a young mother worry

. After all, normally, the baby's body should be transparent and clean, sometimes streaked with blood.

If a woman's water breaks with a greenish tint, this means that something has gone wrong. Read about what the causes and consequences of such a deviation from the norm may be in our material today.

Green waters during childbirth: reasons

Why are there green waters during childbirth? The reason for this color is the presence of meconium, the baby's original feces, in the amniotic fluid. Normally, the baby’s first bowel movement should occur after birth, but if the woman in labor has green water, it means that the feces passed in the womb.

Unfortunately, there is no clear and precise answer to the question of why a pregnant woman may experience green water. Therefore, let's look at all the possible reasons from the point of view of doctors.

Green waters during childbirth: consequences

The problem with green water during birth is that if the baby ingests this toxic liquid, there can be severe health consequences for the baby's lungs. So, due to aspirated meconium, a baby may develop:

chemical pneumonitis - meconium lipids have an aggressive effect on the lungs, due to which part or all of the organ can be paralyzed;
destruction of surfactant, the main function of which is to prevent collapse of the lungs during exhalation and promote expansion during inhalation;
collapse of lung tissue due to blockage of the respiratory tract by meconium.

Often babies born in green waters are born in a state of asphyxia, and therefore receive a low score.

Respiratory failure in a newborn due to meconium infection can occur both immediately and 10 hours after birth. This condition is called aspiration syndrome in neonatology and depends on how long the child spent in a polluted environment and how severely his respiratory tract was affected.

In the future, newborns who have suffered aspiration syndrome may develop diseases of the respiratory system and chronic respiratory failure more often than others.

Green waters during childbirth: help and treatment

If during childbirth the mother's green water breaks, the main task is to remove as much as possible the existing meconium from the newborn's respiratory tract. It is important to carry out all medical procedures quickly, even before the child takes his first breath, so that meconium particles do not enter the alveoli.

To do this, even in the process of birth, the child undergoes the following procedures:

suck out the meconium immediately after the head has erupted;
wash the airways with isotonic sodium solution;
a special tube is inserted into the larynx and trachea (intubated) to prevent the spread of meconium and further cleanse the respiratory tract.

Cleansing (sanitation) of the respiratory tract is carried out until clear waters are obtained. If the surfactant - a substance that prevents collapse of the lungs on exhalation and promotes expansion on inhalation - has been destroyed, the child is given special medications, humidified oxygen to maintain gas exchange and antibiotics to prevent the development of infection.

Be attentive to yourself and your baby during pregnancy, and we wish you a successful and easy birth!

Causes and consequences of green waters during childbirth

Water plays an important role during pregnancy. Amniotic fluid provides nutrition and protection to the baby throughout pregnancy.

Its passage by tearing or puncturing the bladder in the maternity hospital is one of the first signs of the birth process.

Even if there are no contractions, and the water has broken, the woman urgently needs to call an ambulance, because without a liquid medium, the child, with the worst prognosis, can die.

Greenish-tinged waters are increasingly being recorded by doctors during childbirth. This trend indicates a possible large-scale problem - pathologies of intrauterine development.

Green waters during childbirth can appear for various reasons, but not all of them are equally significant.

It is important to know in what cases an opaque color signals violations in order to respond to them in time and prevent a disaster.

Why do green waters appear during childbirth?

Doctors believe that the state of the waters has invaluable diagnostic value. There are several priority reasons for the appearance of green waters during childbirth:

oxygen “hunger” of the little one;
post-term baby;
infection during pregnancy.

Rare gene abnormalities in the fetus can trigger a situation where the green amniotic water breaks during childbirth. But this factor is so rare that it is not worth focusing on.

Green water during labor is not always a cause for concern. Pushing through the mother's birth canal, the baby experiences stress, so it involuntarily empties the intestines. Meconium in a newborn turns everything green. This happens in 30% of cases, most often during prolonged labor.

There is a hypothesis that green amniotic fluid during childbirth occurs when the day before the woman in labor drank apple juice or ate green peas. But it is unlikely that the color of the water is really related to nutrition.

When answering the question why during childbirth the waters are green or greenish in color, we should not forget about such factors as:

low hemoglobin in a woman in labor;
umbilical cord torsion/prolapse;
detachment of the child's place, a sharp disturbance of hematodynamics in it, which can become the basis for the development of hypoxia.

There are several reasons for the occurrence of green water in a pregnant woman

Thus, the final reasons for the accumulation of green amniotic fluid during childbirth are not always reliably known. Most often, oxygen deficiency caused by one reason or another leads to the release of meconium. Due to a lack of oxygen, the baby's sphincter may begin to involuntarily contract, pushing out feces. This is why green water breaks during childbirth.

But it’s not just feces that colors them pathologically. Answering the question of what amniotic fluid can be like, why and why it is green water that makes gynecologists worry during normal labor, it should be noted that a yellow or gray-green color indicates oligohydramnios. And this sign in itself is a rather dangerous sign.

There are other shades of water: yellow, reddish, brownish.

It is not a fact that green waters during childbirth will be a harbinger of further problems with the health of the newborn child, but they may be such, which is why, having received information about the unusual color of the waters, the doctor will play it safe and send the patient for special tests.

The potential danger of green waters lies not so much in their color, but in the causes and consequences for children.

How to determine the color of amniotic fluid

Thus, feces or infection may enter the aquatic environment around the fetus, causing amniotic green water to appear. But there is another color:

yellow, cloudy, dirty - the norm when a baby is born;
yellow with streaks of pink or red against a background of good health is simply a harbinger of the readiness of the uterus to deliver a pregnancy;
red is fraught with serious consequences for the mother and child, in which case urgent hospitalization is required;
the dark brown, seemingly black color of the water during childbirth is a signal of the intrauterine death of the baby, but the mother can and should be saved.

If amniotic fluid leaks long before the birth at home, for example, while taking a bath, be sure to call an ambulance.

Important! Remember the color, smell, amount of colored water, if we are talking about premature leakage. This information will need to be provided to the specialist.

Methods for diagnosing amniotic fluid:

amnioscopy;
amniocentnesis (puncture of the amniotic sac);
Ultrasound (in this regard, a low-informative method).

What is the danger of green waters during childbirth?

If green water flows during childbirth, this means that there is a serious threat to the baby's lungs.

Throughout pregnancy, the fetus absorbs amniotic fluid. First (in the first months) - with the skin, then swallows a little water by mouth. If they are transparent and do not contain foreign inclusions, then nothing threatens the baby’s body.

If the fetus’s own secretions enter the respiratory system, then in the future he will be susceptible to pneumonia or pulmonitis. In addition, meconium pulmonary inflammation is difficult to treat, leading to high infant mortality.

Green waters during childbirth are not something to be afraid of if you have an experienced doctor nearby. He will immediately clear the airways, but if he still does not have time to do this at the moment the head appears, pay attention to the fight against possible consequences.

Green waters during labor mean that the baby is at risk, but does not necessarily lead to abnormalities.

It is not known for certain why green water appears at the time of birth of a child or before it, but the severity of the consequences is proportional to the degree of hypoxia. This is why the baby after birth and his mother, if pathology is suspected, undergo additional examinations.

Consequences of green waters during childbirth: what to expect in the future

Every mother should know the causes and consequences of the passage of green water during childbirth, because this pathology can develop at the end of pregnancy, complicating childbirth.

Here are the dangers of green waters during childbirth:

postpartum pneumonia, bronchitis;
diseases of the eyes, kidneys, skin;
delayed development;
Cerebral palsy.

Green waters during childbirth provoke unpleasant complications and consequences for the child. The consequences of hypoxia may not appear immediately, but at 2–3 years of age in the form of delayed speech development or in adolescence in the form of fainting.

If the green water breaks during childbirth and when leaving, the child takes a sip and does not regurgitate the contaminated substance, he runs the risk of suffering from diarrhea, vomiting, diarrhea, lack of appetite, and rickets in the future. Parents will feel all the consequences and influence of green waters during childbirth on the development of the baby in the first year of life. A newborn may experience:

anxiety;
hyperactivity;
muscle tone;
sleep disorders;
intracranial hypertension;
moodiness and much more.

That is why you cannot ignore the symptoms of pathology and self-medicate.

Green waters and caesarean section

In cases where water of an unusual color comes out and contractions do not begin, the doctor may perform a cesarean section. The section is performed after CTG in order to preserve the baby’s health. During the natural birth process, the child could choke on amniotic fluid with feces, but thanks to a cesarean this will not happen.

Green waters during childbirth are a common case in medical practice, which has a certain diagnostic value.

If amniotic fluid enters the lungs, the doctor will clear the airways, but some of the contaminated substance can enter the body with the first breath. This is fraught with developmental delays, sickness of the offspring and even death. Contacting specialists will help you avoid these consequences.

Source: https://prorozhdenie.ru/247-zelenye-vody-pri-rodah.html