Kids+

“My daughter was born two weeks premature. I can’t say that the pregnancy was easy and without complications. While I was carrying the baby, I managed to suffer from an acute respiratory viral infection and even ended up in the hospital with renal colic. But at the antenatal clinic they reassured me: “Everything is fine, there is no reason to worry.” I wasn't worried. And when there was less than a month left before the planned meeting with my baby, my legs began to swell and my blood pressure began to rise. The gynecologist looked at my tests and said: “We can’t wait, we’ll give birth,” and straight from the consultation I went to the maternity hospital. An examination at the maternity hospital showed that the child had severe hypoxia. The doctors spoke to each other in some incomprehensible medical terms, and I sat on a chair, roared, stroked my stomach and asked: “Be patient, dear, be patient a little. Everything will be fine with you."

I was given an emergency caesarean. I remember how much I worried that they wouldn’t bring me a baby for a long time. “Rest, mommy, while you can. Then you won’t sleep for a long time,” the elderly midwife told me. I didn’t think then that her words would become prophetic.

Our problems started almost immediately: he doesn’t want to take the breast, but he will take two sips and sleep, after 15-20 minutes he wakes up and screams. And so on in a circle. I followed doctors like a stray dog. I held my daughter with one hand and the aching stitch with the other. “Doctor, look at my child. I think we have a problem." In the department they already looked at me like I was having a seizure. And a week later we were discharged.

And then real hell began. My daughter screamed and cried around the clock. She slept fitfully and only in her arms. And the local pediatrician said: “She’s just hungry, feed her better,” “There’s not enough milk, feed her,” etc. We went to the doctors. They changed one neurologist to another, but no one saw any serious health problems in my daughter.

It got to the point that even my husband told me: “You need to be calmed down. The child just feels your condition, so he doesn’t sleep.” He took the pillow and moved to another room. This is what broke me. I thought that he was probably right. I just put up with the constant crying of my baby and slowly went crazy from fatigue.

We continued to go to the clinic, received vaccinations as scheduled, and none of the doctors even doubted that perhaps these vaccinations were contraindicated for us.

Doctors started talking about the fact that there was “something wrong” with the child when my daughter was 11 months old. It seems like we need to start walking, but we just learned to sit normally. And then everything began to grow like a snowball. And more and more often the consequences of intrauterine hypoxia began to slip into the words of doctors. Well, why only now?

Now my daughter is already 3.5 years old. She still doesn't talk. At all. We haven’t heard either “mom” or “dad” from her yet. Her neurological status is described in a way that is more reminiscent of a medical encyclopedia. Mountains of medications, endless consultations with doctors and complete uncertainty about the future... But most importantly, it’s so disappointing that I was right. If the doctors had paid attention earlier... why talk about it now.”

This letter came to our editors from the city of Aktobe. Who is right in this situation and who is wrong is not for us to judge. But this is only one story, one of tens and even hundreds of thousands of similar stories. This phenomenon is too common - fetal hypoxia. But does it always lead to severe and sometimes irreversible consequences? And is it possible to prevent the development of complications? We tried to collect brief and objective information for future parents.

Hypoxia, oxygen starvation of the fetus - expectant mothers hear these terms very often. They scare some people, while others, on the contrary, do not pay much attention to them.

Chronic intrauterine hypoxia

Everyone knows that while in the womb, a child cannot breathe on his own. Despite the fact that his lungs are already formed, they are filled with fluid. Even when the child tries to make breathing movements in utero, they do not work. Before birth, a child breathes only through the placenta, the so-called baby's place. This means that the intrauterine well-being of the child depends on how the expectant mother feels and how the blood vessels of the placenta work.

Risk factors for the development of chronic intrauterine hypoxia:

various types of anemia;
diseases of the cardiovascular system;
kidney diseases;
bronchial asthma;
diabetes;
post-term pregnancy;
threat of miscarriage;
bleeding;
smoking, alcoholism and drug addiction;
exposure to toxic substances, including certain medications;
Rh conflict between mother and child;
intrauterine infection of the fetus, especially in the first half of pregnancy;
toxicosis in early pregnancy.

Diagnosis of chronic hypoxia during pregnancy

It is quite difficult to diagnose oxygen starvation in the fetus in the early stages of pregnancy without functional diagnostic equipment, so the expectant mother needs to take care of her health as best as possible - spend more time in the fresh air, eat well and rationally, avoid contact with toxic chemicals, which, by the way, , include household chemicals and some types of products for salon procedures. You should also give up all bad habits and avoid stressful situations if possible.

Consequences of chronic hypoxia

A mild degree of intrauterine fetal hypoxia, if timely measures are taken, is, as a rule, not dangerous for the child and does not leave a serious imprint on the functioning of his nervous system. If oxygen starvation lasts for a long time, the prognosis is not so optimistic. Hypoxia of moderate severity can lead to delays in the physical and intellectual development of the fetus, difficulties in adapting the baby in the postpartum period, as well as various neurological disorders, such as restless sleep, frequent tantrums, moodiness, poor appetite, increased or decreased muscle tone, seizures, etc.

A severe form of chronic hypoxia can provoke necrosis and ischemia of tissues of internal organs, which will certainly lead to the occurrence of irreversible processes - from functional disorders to severe mental health defects. In addition, with severe chronic intrauterine hypoxia, the risk of premature birth increases significantly.

The main complications of chronic intrauterine hypoxia:

perinatal (postpartum) damage to the central nervous system;
hemorrhages, bleeding, ischemia of internal organs (myocardium, lungs, kidneys, adrenal glands, intestines);
intrauterine growth retardation;
prematurity;
fetal death.

What are the consequences of hypoxia?

The consequences of oxygen starvation can be of varying degrees of complexity, it all depends on how long the baby suffered without oxygen. Doctors evaluate the health of a newborn using a special Apgar scale. If immediately after birth the baby’s health is assessed at 4-6 points, and after 10 minutes from 8 to 10, then you can expect consequences of moderate severity. If the score is lower, the consequences of the disease will be more complex.

Babies who have suffered from a lack of oxygen in the future may face such problems as:

Developmental, mental, physical retardation
Speech delays
Hyperactivity
Neurological disorders

When a developing organism lacks oxygen, the brain is the first to suffer. If the doctor nevertheless makes this unpleasant diagnosis to a newborn baby, he is immediately prescribed treatment and registered with a neurologist. Parents of such children need to know that perhaps in the future they will need the help of a speech therapist or child psychologist.

Hypoxia is not a death sentence for a child; despite all its seriousness, hypoxia does not put an end to the development of the fetus. In most cases, babies are born healthy and develop just like their peers. The only thing that may indicate hypoxia is a bluish tint to the skin of a newborn, but after a week the baby’s skin will acquire a natural color for children.

In order for your baby to be born healthy, you must monitor your health, take all prescribed medications, give up bad habits, and stay away from suspicious people who may suffer from infectious diseases. By fulfilling such simple requirements, you will reduce to a minimum the possibility of diagnosing your pathology.

Acute hypoxia

Acute oxygen deficiency does not occur as often as chronic oxygen deficiency, but leads to much more severe consequences. Most often, it occurs during childbirth and requires emergency medical attention. Acute intrauterine hypoxia is rare.

The causes of acute intrapartum hypoxia may be:

premature placental abruption;
disruption of blood flow in the umbilical cord;
tight or repeated entanglement of the umbilical cord of the fetus during delivery;
weakness of labor;
prolonged or rapid labor;
premature rupture of amniotic fluid;
uterine rupture;
application of obstetric forceps;
presence of meconium in amniotic fluid.

Sometimes the cause of acute hypoxia can be the use of narcotic analgesic drugs during childbirth.

Labor hypoxia (acute)

Hypoxia can also occur during childbirth, then it is called intrapartum. This type (acute hypoxia) most often no longer depends on the mother, but is a consequence of delayed or unqualified obstetric care. Therefore, every woman in labor, going to the maternity hospital, should imagine what qualified obstetric care during childbirth and the normal birth process should look like, and not allow experiments to be carried out on herself or put up with frankly incorrect medical care.
In the early 60s, aggressive obstetric care began to be widely practiced in the Soviet Union, even during normal births, with the use of birth stimulants. These methods include: drug stimulation of contractions and puncture of the amniotic sac. Such assistance poses a serious threat to the health of both the newborn and the mother. A quick birth is not natural, because the organisms of the child and the woman in labor must adapt, while harsh intervention during childbirth is fraught with birth injuries and acute fetal hypoxia is often the result of unjustified actions of medical staff.

The main causes of hypoxia during childbirth

Placental abruption prematurely.
Weakness of labor.
Umbilical cord entanglement.
Polyhydramnios.
Multiple births.

Consequences of acute hypoxia

Acute hypoxia is dangerous because it occurs almost instantly and, in the absence of emergency help, can lead to the death of the baby.

But even experienced acute hypoxia can cause:

disruption of the central nervous system, the child will lag behind in mental and psychological development in the future;
ischemia of internal organs, which will lead to serious disruptions in the functioning of these organs and possible disability of the child;
hemorrhages in vital organs, most often in the brain (stroke).

The most common consequence of acute intrapartum hypoxia is hydrocephalus (cerebral edema). In most cases, the consequences of the disease are cerebral palsy (cerebral palsy) and spastic tetraparesis (limited mobility of muscle structures).

Despite the fact that hypoxia can lead to the most dramatic consequences, it should be noted that not all children are susceptible to it. Nature itself took care of protecting babies before they were born. The blood of newborns contains more oxygen than that of adults, and hemoglobin has a special structure. We can say that the entire action of the cardiovascular system is aimed at protecting the child from the harmful effects of hypoxia. Therefore, short-term, mild oxygen starvation will not bring any trouble to a healthy baby in the future.

The consequences of hypoxia can be predicted immediately during childbirth

Depending on the degree of oxygen starvation before and during childbirth, the consequences for the baby may be different.
Conditionally, the prognosis can be determined according to the assessment of the condition of the newborn child on the Apgar scale. If immediately after birth the child’s condition was assessed at 4-6 points, and at the 5th minute - 8-10, then the consequences may be of moderate severity. If the Apgar score is lower, then severe consequences can be expected. This means that there will be neurological disorders, the child may be hyperactive, with a delay in mental or physical development, with various mental and speech pathologies. The brain suffers most from a lack of oxygen, and it coordinates the work of all body systems, so the consequences of severe hypoxia (whether chronic or acute) can be very different and make themselves felt in the most unexpected manifestations. How serious everything is can be judged by the fact that the brain completely shuts down 15 seconds after the supply of oxygen through the blood stops, and neurons begin to die en masse within five minutes after stopping blood circulation or breathing.

Pinching of the umbilical cord and lack of spontaneous breathing during childbirth means a cessation of blood flow into the child’s body, blood pressure decreases, and venous blood pressure increases. As a result, serious damage to the newborn’s brain occurs, such as ischemia, edema, hemorrhage, and the consequences of such damage can be irreversible. The most severe consequences of oxygen starvation include cerebral palsy. The massive appearance of children with this diagnosis is associated with the widespread use of birth-stimulating drugs.

The surest sign of hypoxia in an unborn child is a decrease or increase in heart rate during labor and changes in fetal activity. A sure sign of hypoxia is bradycardia (slow heartbeat) up to 90 beats/min in the case of cephalic presentation and less than 80 beats/min in the case of pelvic presentation, or tachycardia (rapid heartbeat) more often than 190 beats/minute.

Just don't panic!

In such an important and responsible period as pregnancy, caring for one’s own health and the future of the baby also lies in maintaining the harmonious psychological state of the pregnant woman.
The risk of stress should be minimized. One of the most important tasks is to prevent the appearance of various phobias, primarily those related to the condition and development of the child. As for hypoxia, we must remember that even serious somatic diseases of the mother do not necessarily cause intrauterine hypoxia of the fetus. Nature made sure that the baby was protected as much as possible. There are many special physiological mechanisms that prevent the occurrence of hypoxia and compensate for deficiencies in the blood supply from the mother.

In particular, fetal blood “accommodates” much more oxygen molecules than the blood of adults. The fetal heart pumps much more blood per unit of time than the heart of adults. At the same time, hemoglobin is seriously different in its structure; hemoglobin molecules in the fetus attach and split off oxygen much faster. The entire cardiovascular system of the fetus has a special structure designed to prevent oxygen starvation.