It’s not a very pleasant subject to think about and even less to worry about, but it is necessary to know about all the risks and precautions we can take. When we talk about the risks that a baby faces even during pregnancy, the situation can become a bit more complicated, because prevention is not always in our reach, as is the case with neonatal asphyxia. Neonatal asphyxia is one of the main causes of death in babies shortly after birth and can also leave serious sequelae in those who survive it. But to fully understand what this entails, we need to understand a few other terms to position ourselves within this very complex matter.

What is Perinatal Asphyxia?

First, we should understand that the perinatal period corresponds to the time between 22 weeks of gestation of a baby and up to seven days of life. Perinatal asphyxia usually occurs due to some problem in the nutritional supply from the mother to the baby during this pregnancy period, which can lead to complications and make delivery somewhat more delicate as well. The neonatal period corresponds to the first 28 days of a child’s life. It is when they are most fragile and, for this reason, 80% of infant deaths in the first year occur within this period. Neonatal asphyxia is also a consequence of the previously mentioned problems and is a major cause of concern for both parents and doctors.

How Does Neonatal Asphyxia Occur?

When there is an issue with the nutritional supply between the mother and the baby, the main organs affected are the lungs and the heart, but mainly the lungs. Increased respiratory rate and elevated blood pressure are the main characteristics at the onset of perinatal asphyxia. If the problem continues, the next symptoms are respiratory arrest, this time accompanied by a drop in heart rate. This irregularity in breathing is what makes neonatal asphyxia so dangerous, since what happens at the time of birth will be decisive for the baby’s condition in its first days of life.

Causes of Neonatal Asphyxia

We can say that the causes of neonatal asphyxia can occur either on the mother’s side or the baby’s due to problems that arose during pregnancy such as high blood pressure, diabetes, seizures, infections during delivery, malformations, among other things. In addition, problems during childbirth can also cause neonatal asphyxia, such as umbilical cord rupture, for example. When we talk specifically about asphyxia in babies during the neonatal period, some of the main causes are:

  • Anemia;
  • Hemorrhages;
  • Pulmonary immaturity;
  • Metabolic disorders.

How to Deal With the Problem After It Happens?

As already mentioned, neonatal asphyxia is one of the main causes of death in babies during this period, which can leave many families traumatized and afraid to try to have another child. We should consider that despite this, death does not always occur and often the baby may not have very severe sequelae, but if it does, it is highly recommended that both mother and father undergo psychological treatment to help overcome the trauma and rethink life from then on. Although it is a shocking event in a person’s life, we cannot simply give up, even though there will be a period of mourning and overcoming what happened. We should also respect the pain of those going through this kind of problem, without giving opinions or examples, simply listening and letting time pass so that healing may take place. Problems such as neonatal asphyxia unfortunately are part of our reality, even though many of us may never imagine it could happen to us. And since we know there are ways to prevent this type of problem, it is crucial to always have very thorough medical follow-up, especially if the factors that contribute to this problem are part of your reality. It’s the type of thing in life we need to learn to deal with, even though it is often a hard and difficult reality. The truth is we always have to remember there are ways to prevent and often treat the sequelae this type of problem can cause, which helps us try to live as well as possible. Also read: Ferritin in Pregnancy – Symptoms and Treatments Photo: Kmanzela