After the appearance of the child, the woman’s world undergoes tremendous changes. Instinct tells her that the baby may have breathing problems. Therefore, mothers very often bend over the baby’s bed to make sure that everything is normal with him. This is due to a pathological condition such as apnea in newborns.
Breath
The birth of the instinct of breathing occurs in the child during the prenatal period. A full-fledged process occurs in an infant immediately after birth. Taking a first and deep breath, he fills the lungs and spreads them. Therefore, for specialists, the first cry of the child is so important. At this point, the lungs open, which confirms the correctness of their work.
Causes of respiratory arrest occur when there is not enough oxygen in the blood. Due to the immaturity of the body, apnea in newborns occurs most often.
Types of breathing in a baby
Specialists were able to establish that the child has features in breathing. The following varieties exist:
- Regular breathing. It is characterized by the same period of time between inhalation and exhalation.
- Irregular In this case, the breathing is intermittent, and between inspiration and expiration different intervals of time. It is inherent in premature babies.
- Periodic A child develops alternately active and passive breathing, which replaces each other unevenly. Respiratory arrest is up to 3 seconds.
- Apnea in a newborn baby. This is a baby’s lack of breathing for 15 seconds, and sometimes less, with symptoms of bradycardia. If pauses occur briefly and blood supply resumes, then such attacks are qualified as a variant of the norm. If breathing is absent for a long time, then this is a threat to the life of the baby.
The problem of prolonged apnea in newborns is that due to insufficient oxygen supply to the blood, carbon dioxide accumulates. As a result, there is a loss of consciousness and brain damage, which in the future can lead to a delay in mental development and death. The danger of apnea lies in the fact that it occurs at the time of sleep, so it is quite difficult to replace the negative changes in the respiratory system in time.
Signs of the disease
In order to prevent complications in the children's body, it is necessary to take into account the peculiarities of the pathology. During the diagnosis, it belongs to the main preventive measures. Parents should carefully monitor the condition of the newborn so as not to miss the onset of the attack.
The main symptoms of apnea in newborns include:
- The child predominates breathing through the mouth, especially if it is not associated with difficulty in nasal breathing. Due to a lack of oxygen, the baby is trying to achieve its intake with deep breaths.
- Imperceptibly visual movement of the chest, which occurs due to the lack of long breaths.
- Decrease in heart rate.
- Sensations of obstruction of the larynx that occur when feeding a baby.
- Pale and blue skin.
- Common signs also include lethargy and drowsiness.
Signs of apnea attacks in newborns largely depend on the severity of the pathology. If there is a neglected or severe form, with the presence of a long stop, then the signs will be pronounced. Basically, they appear in the complex. If the pathology is characterized by irregular and intermittent breathing, then the signs will be weak.
Who is at risk
Some children are at risk, due to the characteristics of the body:
- Premature babies. They are at risk due to the fact that their respiratory and nervous systems are not fully formed. Usually after birth, infants are placed in special incubators to control their breathing, heart rate and body temperature. It is constant monitoring that guarantees the safety of the child, and special equipment allows you to establish the exact cause of apnea syndrome in newborns.
- Children who have disorders in the structure of the jaw, nose and other organs. This leads to obstruction of the air, and as a result to sleep apnea.
- Enlarged tonsils and polyps are diseases that create a barrier to air penetration. If any deviation occurs, you must consult your doctor for a diagnosis.
- Being overweight in children can also cause apnea.
- Babies who suffer from pathology of the heart and blood vessels are also at risk.
- Imbalance in mineral balance also causes respiratory failure.
- Injuries and diseases that were received during childbirth.
All children at risk should be under the constant supervision of a specialist.
Causes of the disease
Pathology appears due to certain circumstances associated with the birth and health features of the child. The causes of apnea in newborns are congenital and acquired. Based on this, respiratory failure can occur not only in infants, but also in older children. Specialists have a special list that includes patients at risk. It is based on certain diseases that can lead to pathological changes in breathing.
Congenital causes:
- premature birth of a baby up to 34 weeks of gestation;
- infants with signs of prematurity with a body weight of up to 2.5 kg;
- pathology of the heart and blood vessels;
- changes in the respiratory system.
Acquired causes include:
- Diseases of the heart and blood vessels.
- Meningitis.
- Epilepsy.
- Asphyxia.
- An attack of oxygen starvation. It appears in the summer, after prolonged exposure to the sun, when the stuffy air does not provide the baby with the necessary amount of oxygen.
- Infectious diseases. They can cause disruption of the body as a whole or of certain systems in particular.
Apnea in premature infants is a common complication that parents face. It appears from the immaturity of the pulmonary system. If a similar deviation was diagnosed in a newborn child, then it is placed under a mechanical ventilation device. The baby lies there until his body gets stronger and he begins to breathe on his own.
If the first symptoms of the disease in a child appeared after 6 months, then we are talking about late apnea in children, under the age of one year. To find out the causes of this pathology, you need to urgently consult a doctor. Only a specialist will be able to assess the health status of the baby and prescribe the necessary research methods.
Diagnostics
To confirm the diagnosis of sleep apnea in newborns, a specialist can prescribe the following body tests:
- Roentgenogram.
- Ultrasound of the heart and blood vessels.
- Computed tomography.
- Encephalogram of the brain.
All specialist studies will be selected depending on the signs of the disease. This list is approximate, at the discretion of a specialist, it can be supplemented or reduced.
Hospital treatment
Premature babies are placed in special incubators, which are located in intensive care units. There they are connected to monitors, and all indicators of life support are under the control of specialists. If a child has a critical condition, then the principles of therapeutic care are determined:
- Stimulation. Specialists shake, tickle the feet of the baby.
- Oxygen masks. With apnea in newborns, repeated 2 times per hour, resuscitation masks or bags are used. In extreme cases, apply mechanical ventilation.
- Medicines Their purpose is justified if the cause of apnea is established and there is a fact of prematurity.
In some cases, it is necessary to eliminate the cause-provocateurs. When a child has enlarged tonsils or polyps in his nose. Then the therapy is directed to eliminate indirect causes, and breathing stops will go away with them.
First aid
If in a hospital the child is under constant monitoring, then in case of severe attacks the medical staff will take care of him. But what should mother do when she finds a blue baby in the crib. How to help the child in this situation:
- It is necessary to determine the time when a woman takes a child in her arms and starts to slow him down. You should drag your finger along the spine, from the bottom up, and also in the footsteps.
- The mother needs to rub the ears, legs, chest, and sprinkle the baby with cold water.
- If all the previous measures did not have a positive effect on the baby’s health, then they switch to artificial respiration. Due to the fact that the adult lung volume exceeds the volume of children, it is important in this situation not to harm the newborn.
During the period when one of the parents resuscitates the baby, the other must urgently call an ambulance.
Preventive measures
To protect the child from the occurrence of apnea, a number of recommendations should be followed that contribute to the healthy sleep of the baby:
- A woman should not smoke during pregnancy. This is sometimes the main cause of apnea in newborns. And the consequences of this may not be predictable to his health.
- Until the age of 2 years, the child can sleep without a pillow, and the mattress should be stiff.
- Parents must ensure that the child does not sleep on his stomach, be sure to put him on his side or on his back.
- In the room where the baby sleeps, the air temperature should not exceed 22 degrees.
- Parents should sleep with their baby up to 2 years old. To do this, you can put his crib next to the parent. The mother should control the baby’s sleep and breathing. However, she should not be nervous during this period, because the baby feels nervous tension and can worry about it himself.
If sleep apnea is suspected, parents should not delay visiting a doctor. After all, it is dangerous for the baby’s life.
Conclusion
Apnea in newborns is a serious pathology that requires close attention and treatment. At the first sign, parents should consult a specialist for advice.