There are several types of breathing problems that a newborn may experience after birth. Many are caused by premature birth, while others may arise due to structural issues or growths in your infant’s lungs or connected tissues.
If there is any apparent risk of early birth, your healthcare provider may choose to give you steroid medications, which can help lessen the risk that your infant will have breathing problems.
All infants are observed for signs of breathing problems after birth so they can be treated quickly and effectively. Most breathing problems in infants respond very well to treatment.
Common symptoms of breathing problems in a newborn include:
Most of these symptoms will be present at birth if a baby is born with a breathing issue. Your child’s doctor will begin treatment if any of these signs are present.
To understand what causes newborn breathing problems, it’s important to understand how newborns develop the ability to breathe. When a baby is in their mother’s womb, they aren’t breathing for themselves. Their lungs are filled with fluid, and they receive oxygen from a vein in the umbilical cord that connects them to their mother.
At week 36, they have fully developed lungs. When babies are born, their first few breaths allow them to squeeze out any fluid leftover from being in the womb so that blood can flow to the lungs. Newborn lungs also continue to make a substance called surfactant that helps to keep the lungs from collapsing in the first few weeks of life.
When breathing problems occur, it’s usually because something went wrong on the path to lung development. The baby may have been born before the lungs could fully develop (before week 36), blood may not flow well to the lungs, or they may not be making enough surfactant.
There are other causes, like an infection acquired from the mother or accidentally breathing in the first stool they pass (which can get into the fluid around them in the womb).
Risk factors for breathing problems in newborns include premature birth, problems with the development of the heart or lungs in the baby, or diabetes in the mother.
If it’s clear that your newborn has a breathing problem, your doctor will perform a physical exam as well as elect to do imaging tests on the lungs, like an X-ray, an echocardiogram to visualise the heart, measure the oxygen saturation levels in the blood, and do blood tests to check for any infections.
These tests will help your newborn’s provider determine the cause of the breathing problems. Complications of breathing problems in newborns include prolonged medical care, gastrointestinal reflux disease (GERD), heart defects, learning delays, and trouble feeding.
Babies with breathing problems rarely die as a result, but depending on what specific disorder they have, some complications may arise.
Treatment will begin as soon as your baby is born. Depending on the breathing disorder your newborn has, their treatment regimen could include any of the following treatments:
Having a newborn with a breathing problem can be emotionally taxing. It’s important to receive support during this time. Seek out support groups and connect with loved ones.