My sister recently had a baby and they said there was meconium comin out too. My dad freaked out because he was always told this was a serious sign that the baby was in distress. The doctors weren't too worried though. Should they have been more worried?
2007-07-13 04:23:39 · 10 answers · asked by Jeannette B 2 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Pregnancy
Meconium COULD be a sign of danger to the baby, but it doesn't automatically mean that something is wrong with the baby.
Meconium is the stuff that lines the baby's intestines while in the womb. It's like black, tar-like poop. If the baby poops in the womb before delivery, meconium contaminates the amniotic fluid. A baby could inhale this (as my daughter did) or could swallow this. Swallowing is the worse of the two. If the baby swallows some in the womb, he/she could go into distress. Inhaling isn't quite so bad because they get their oxygen from the umbilical cord until after it's cut (or stops functioning).
My daughter inhaled some, so every few hours after she was born, we had to irrigate her lungs with saline solution to clean out all the meconium. It was really sad and both she and I cried a lot through it, but it didn't take long and it wasn't all that bad. She's perfectly healthy now.
Anyway, that's why they don't want to see meconium in the fluid, and that's why they try to get the baby out in a hurry if they do find some.
2007-07-13 04:45:32 · answer #1 · answered by sparki777 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Meconium in the waters during labor is kind of a big deal. It depends on how quickly the baby is delivered after the meconium comes out, and how much there was. Meconium is essentially the baby's poop. (It's not really poop, its more like the coating inside their intestines that allows them to be digesting what we give the baby through the umbilical cord)
The problem with meconium is that it can get into the baby's lungs if there is lots of it in the amniotic fluid. The baby needs to be gotten out as soon as the meconium is seen, to protect the baby's lungs.
So, as long as the baby is not on any breathing equipment, or had to be respirated, I would say the Dr's probably knew what they were doing.
2007-07-13 04:30:01 · answer #2 · answered by Katie C 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It's usually not a problem unless the baby breathes in the meconium. If meconium is present during your labor and birth, you will be watched more closely for signs of fetal distress. Alone, meconium staining of the amniotic fluid does not mean that your baby is suffering from fetal distress. It's also more common for a baby who is overdue to have meconium present during labor.
When my daughter was born, she had a bowel movement. After she was born the doctors suctioned through her nose to check and make sure she hadn't breathed in any. She was ok b/c she didn't get any of it in her lungs. She was perfectly fine.
2007-07-13 04:30:44 · answer #3 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No its not necessarily a bad thing. All the meconium signals is that the baby has pooped before delivery. The baby is usually not in distress when this happens and the doctors take all precautions to make sure the baby is sucked out very well once the head is present and before the baby takes their first cry. I go to deliveries alot in my profession and 99% of meconium babies come out just fine.
2007-07-13 04:32:07 · answer #4 · answered by Jen C 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It can be bad, but if she was well into labor the baby is coming out anyway, and that's the first thing that has to be done. A lot of babies have that first bowl movement during labor. When I had my daughter (I had a water birth) her fluid was clear but as I was giving birth to her she had her 1st bowl movement, and it came out with her, and it was a lot- it covered the bottom of the bathtub after they had drained the water. So if the doc's are not worried about it then I wouldn't worry. It becomes a problem like when your past your due date, and the doctors find it with ultrasound- and your not in labor yet- theirs a high chance of the baby breathing it in- but your sister and baby are just fine.
2007-07-13 04:39:37 · answer #5 · answered by JWilridge 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It isn't a good sign. It is when the baby has a bowel movement in the womb still. The danger is that the baby could inhale some of it and it can lead to things like pneumonia
2007-07-13 04:31:15 · answer #6 · answered by Cash, Gage and Jax's Mom 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no, my cousin's baby released meconium in the womb before he was born and he is totally fine. He even swallowed some of it and he is now 3 months old and thriving, her baby is fine.
2007-07-13 04:28:49 · answer #7 · answered by Susabelle 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
not worried but concerned. the reason it is bad is because if all the stool is not cleared from the mouth and nasal passages before it takes it's first breath. when it does breathe for the first time it will go into the baby's lungs and can cause major complications like pnuemonia and respiratory distress and infections. but if it is cleared before baby breathes the baby will be perfectly fine.
2007-07-13 04:30:04 · answer #8 · answered by MotherTeresa 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it can be bad if the baby breathes it in..can give him a nasty lung infection..but they'll suction the baby out, and observe him to see if it's a problem..obviously it wasn't because he's fine!!
2007-07-13 04:27:17 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
it CAN be bad, if the baby aspirates it (breathes it in). perhaps there wasn't a danger of that so the doc's weren't worried.
2007-07-13 04:27:40 · answer #10 · answered by Ember Halo 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋