Pregnancy is a difficult period in a woman’s life, because even small deviations and violations in the development of a child can cause serious consequences in the future. Among the most dangerous pathologies, doctors distinguish fetal hypoxia . What is this How to correctly and quickly identify a problem? Can hypoxia be cured? What consequences can a newborn face? We will try to answer all these questions in our article.
What does it mean?
In medicine, fetal hypoxia is a syndrome that occurs due to oxygen starvation of a growing baby. Lack of oxygen negatively affects the tissues and organs of the embryo, slows down its development. A prolonged fasting can lead to serious consequences affecting all systems of the child's body. However, it is the central nervous system that suffers the most in this case.
Symptoms of fetal hypoxia can occur at different stages of its development, therefore, women need to conduct regular examinations throughout the pregnancy period. In addition, in practice there is also acute hypoxia, which manifests itself only during childbirth, for example, due to the incorrect location of the child. There is a chronic variation in the course of this pathology. However, it lends itself to treatment, which can reduce the likelihood of consequences for a minimum.
Hypoxia is not the rarest pathology. According to statistics, it is diagnosed in 11% of pregnant women.
Chronic hypoxia
As mentioned above, in practice, doctors divide this pathology into two types: acute and chronic fetal hypoxia. They differ in the different nature of the course, treatment options, as well as possible consequences. First, consider the chronic form in more detail.
This type of pathology is usually diagnosed with prolonged but moderate oxygen starvation, which does not threaten the life of the fetus. However, it is impossible to turn a blind eye to this problem. Due to a lack of oxygen, the embryo develops much more slowly than necessary. Its organs do not have time to form by the indicated dates. The sooner this pathology has developed, the more it affects the health of the future newborn, especially if the brain is damaged due to oxygen starvation.
Chronic fetal hypoxia in the later stages (after 28 weeks) can lead to disturbances in the central nervous system. The child will be smaller in size, have a lower body weight. Such newborns are not always able to correctly adapt to life in new conditions outside the placenta, therefore they will often get sick.
Acute hypoxia
Unlike the chronic form, acute fetal hypoxia does not occur during pregnancy, but during childbirth. As a rule, oxygen starvation in this case has a more pronounced form, therefore, without timely assistance, the child may die. Acute hypoxia is most often found during protracted when the baby’s head is tightly compressed in the birth canal, or rapid delivery.
This type of hypoxia can be determined by the heart rate of the newborn, which can reach 160 beats per minute. If the cause of the pathology is not timely eliminated, this can lead to asphyxiation and further death of the child. In rare cases, an acute form of hypoxia can also develop during pregnancy - with a sharp detachment of the placenta or an unexpected rupture of the uterus.
What is the cause of acute hypoxia?
Thus, it is clear that hypoxia is a serious pathology that requires prompt treatment. But what triggers her appearance? Which women are at risk? Depending on the type of oxygen starvation, experts identify different reasons.
So, acute fetal hypoxia during pregnancy can be caused by the following deviations:
- Low oxygen in the blood of a woman giving birth. As a rule, it appears due to improper breathing during childbirth or the introduction of anesthesia.
- Low blood pressure of a woman. It arises due to similar reasons.
- Detachment of the placenta. If she departed more than half, then the chance of the death of the child is greatly increased.
- Hypertonicity of the uterus of a giving birth to a woman, which can lead to a rapid birth.
Pathologies that can cause chronic hypoxia
Oxygen starvation that occurs during the development of the fetus causes completely different reasons. In many ways, they depend on the health of the mother. So, most often chronic hypoxia is diagnosed in cases where the expectant mother suffers from diseases of the cardiovascular system. The risk group includes pregnant women with anemia, hypertension and heart disease. Pathologies of the kidneys and respiratory organs can also lead to symptoms of fetal hypoxia. Bad habits, alcoholism, improper lifestyle, the presence of toxicosis also increase the likelihood of hypoxia.
In addition, it is believed that oxygen starvation can develop during multiple pregnancy and if a pregnant woman has sexually transmitted infections. It is diagnosed with polyhydramnios or oligohydramnios, eclampsia and fetal growth retardation.
Symptoms and signs of hypoxia
Hypoxia is a dangerous pathology, so it is extremely important to recognize a possible lack of oxygen in time. And if an acute version of this disease, as a rule, is detected already by qualified doctors and obstetricians during childbirth, then the chronic one can be determined by a number of characteristic symptoms.
Signs of fetal hypoxia are mild, so it’s almost impossible to independently understand that the fetus suffers from a lack of oxygen. Until 14-18 weeks, oxygen starvation does not manifest itself in any way, therefore, it can be detected only by chance during a general study. However, in the later stages, hypoxia can be suspected for the following symptoms:
- rapid fetal heart rate manifests itself with slight oxygen starvation, in later stages, on the contrary, it slows down significantly;
- the child’s activity in the womb also increases or decreases depending on the degree of development of the pathology - the more she struck the embryo, the less often the pregnant woman will notice fetal movements;
- the appearance in the amniotic fluid of original feces (meconium).
Sometimes a woman’s doctor can also suspect hypoxia if, for example, during an ultrasound scan, he notices signs of fetal growth retardation: insufficient size and weight for a specific period. In the early stages, oxygen starvation can also be suspected due to the poor health of the expectant mother, in particular if the pregnant woman suffers from anemia.
How to determine fetal hypoxia?
If the expectant mother notices the reduced activity of the fetus, then she should immediately go for diagnosis. There is a special technique that allows you to determine whether a child really moves less than expected. In the later stages, the pregnant woman should count the number of periods of fetal activity from early morning. The jerks usually last 1-2 minutes. There should be at least 10 of them per day.
Intrauterine hypoxia of the fetus is diagnosed after a series of examinations. Before making a diagnosis, the doctor must evaluate the general condition of the fetus. First, auscultation is performed - this is listening to the baby's heart with a stethoscope. The doctor determines the frequency of contractions, sonority and rhythm, as well as the rhythm of the heart. The most modern analogue of such a diagnosis is cardiotocography, when an ultrasound device is installed on the pregnant woman’s stomach, which automatically reads the data of the heart, excluding the possibility of medical error.
If intrauterine hypoxia of the fetus is suspected, a woman is prescribed dopplerometry. It shows changes in the blood flow of a pregnant woman in veins, arteries and blood vessels located next to the uterus, placenta and fetus. The deterioration of blood flow may indicate the development of oxygen starvation.
To diagnose hypoxia, an ECG of the fetus is also performed, as well as maternal blood tests. If an increased concentration of certain enzymes or any oxidation products are found in the blood, then this also indicates the possible presence of pathology.
Definition of acute hypoxia during childbirth
Acute fetal hypoxia can be diagnosed directly during childbirth. As a rule, first of all, doctors pay attention to the color of amniotic fluid. If they are cloudy, have a greenish tint or contain obvious traces of meconium, then this means that the child has been experiencing a serious lack of oxygen for some time. If the waste water is transparent, then the newborn is unlikely to suffer from hypoxia.
After giving birth, doctors may also notice signs of oxygen starvation in the newborn. It is determined by the bluish color of the baby's skin, weak muscle tone, shortness of breath. When listening to the chest, wheezing can be heard, and sometimes the child does not cry at all. A sign of fetal hypoxia is also a violation of the heart rhythm and the absence of any reflexes in the newborn.
Acute Hypoxia Treatment
Oxygen starvation during childbirth should be eliminated as soon as possible, otherwise the consequences of fetal hypoxia cannot be avoided. The acute phase is the most dangerous, as it develops rapidly and can lead to death. The kid, taking his first breath, swallows amniotic fluid and chokes with them. Therefore, doctors during childbirth carefully monitor the condition of both the child and the mother. Cardiomonitoring is often used, which helps specialists understand how serious the problem is. After the birth, a newborn needs urgent resuscitation. Otherwise, the consequences of fetal hypoxia for the child will be very serious.
Therapy for chronic hypoxia
If chronic hypoxia is detected, a pregnant woman is prescribed complex treatment. First of all, it is aimed at eliminating the cause of the lack of oxygen. Doctors also try to minimize the effects of fetal hypoxia on the baby and normalize blood flow to the placenta.
A pregnant woman should stay in bed to improve blood flow. Often she is hospitalized at all. Therapy is aimed at reducing the contractile function of the uterus in order to eliminate the likelihood of a miscarriage. To do this, appoint “No-shpa” or candles “Papaverine”. The patient should take oxygen cocktails regularly. They also make droppers that thin the blood so that it can enter the placenta more easily.
If the complex treatment of fetal hypoxia did not bring visible results, then pregnant women are sent to an emergency caesarean section in the late stages to minimize the possible effects of oxygen starvation.
What can be the complications of hypoxia?
Oxygen starvation negatively affects the overall development of the embryo. Since the brain of the unborn child is primarily affected, then, as a rule, the main complications affect the central nervous system. If hypoxia developed at an early stage of development, the newborn may not be able to live independently. Such children are diagnosed with cerebral edema, heart defects and other diseases. Kids can suffer from seizures, epilepsy, renal failure, enterocolitis. In children who suffered from hypoxia in the womb, developmental delays are often observed. Therefore, they are forced to regularly visit a psychologist and a neurologist. In especially severe cases, hypoxia leads to fetal death in the womb.
Possible prevention of fetal hypoxia
Every woman should understand how dangerous this disease can be. Doctors should promptly notify pregnant women of all the symptoms and consequences of fetal hypoxia, so that the pregnant woman, at the first suspicion of a pathology, consults a gynecologist, rather than self-medicating. To prevent oxygen starvation of the child, the expectant mother is more likely to be in the fresh air, eliminate bad habits and lead a healthy lifestyle. You must not forget about proper nutrition, intake of vitamins and regular visits to your doctor.
Draw conclusions
Symptoms and consequences of fetal hypoxia should be known to every woman who decides to become a mother. Only competent prevention, timely detection and qualified treatment will help minimize all possible complications. Do not underestimate the problem, which can seriously affect not only the physical, but also the mental health of your child.