We all know how delicate the process, and stages of pregnancy can be, when I see a woman who is pregnant on the road, I try to assist her with whatsoever she is carrying or just in any way I can be of help because I know it is a lot of work going on in there. I heard a very touching story of a woman recently that made me know about a condition I had never heard about before.
Let's start with the story, she was in an abusive marriage to a man who took advantage of her desire to get a green card, and knowing she had no other person in the state to run to, he dealt with her properly. While she was pregnant, he found every reason to throw her punches from time to time, On the day she found out her water broke, she asked him to take her to the hospital, and like someone who is possessed, he decided to give her some good beating again.
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After some time she was rescued by neighbors and was rushed to the hospital, She gave birth successfully, but there was some form of complication, and that is taking us straight to talking about the topic I will be sharing today.
Meconium is a thick, tar-like, green substance that lines up your baby's intestine during pregnancy. Usually, the substance should not be released in the baby's bowel movement until after birth, but in some rare cases, the fetus will have a bowel movement before birth, therefore excreting the meconium into the amniotic fluid.
Amniotic fluid is a yellow, clear fluid found within the first 12 days after conception, within the amniotic sac, which surrounds the growing baby in the uterus.
Some of the conditions linked with meconium are; preeclampsia, placental insufficiency, oligohydramnios, and peripartum infections. When babies are born through a meconium-stained amniotic fluid, there is a higher developmental risk of events like respiratory distress and perinatal asphyxia.
Light-colored meconium does not provide much risk to the baby, neither is it a sign of fetal distress, but rather the maturation of your baby. Having a thicker meconium is more dangerous to your baby, there is even a type that is so thick that healthcare providers refer to it as ''pea soup'' because of the greenish shade of meconium.
The presence of meconium in labor would mean the baby would be monitored intensely to watch out for signs of fetal distress, In the case of poor fetal monitoring, the doctor in charge may decide to perform an aminoinfusion. If your baby is not still tolerating the labor properly or is showing other signs of fetal distress that aggressive therapy has not been able to correct,
Meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) is an adverse event for infants, it happens when there is an accidental inhalation of meconium in utero or during delivery. This complication affects only about 3-9% of babies that are delivered with meconium-stained amniotic fluid. MAS happens when a newborn baby finds it difficult to breathe because meconium has got into the lungs.
Why meconium makes it more difficult to breathe because it can; irritate the airways and then injure the lung tissue, it can clog the airways, and it can also block surfactant, which is a fatty substance that helps with the opening of the lungs after birth. The occurrences that eventually lead to meconium are when;
Babies are born past their due date.
There has been a hard or long delivery.
The mother of the child has health issues like; high blood pressure or diabetes.
The baby didn't grow well before birth.
The mother was a heavy smoker or got involved with hard drugs during pregnancy.
Before or when a baby is born, doctors will notice some signs that would signify the presence of MAS in the baby;
The baby would be limp.
The baby would have meconium stains.
The baby would have a slow heart rate or breathing issues.
The baby's amniotic fluid would be stained.
Infection can happen to either mother or child, but with a fast medical intervention, doctors and nurses always know what to look out for and then treat accordingly. Possibly, shown signs of infection include; foul-smelling discharge, sweating, fast heart rate, fever, tenderness around the uterus, and constant pain.
It is a lot to deal with, but there are cases of strong recovery where there was no form of complications at all, but some other cases affected either mother or child. In the case of this woman, she stated that her son had a blocked airway but he survived.
Further Readings.
https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/meconium.html
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/307082#functions
https://www.verywellfamily.com/meconium-babys-first-stool-2759060
https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/after-water-breaks-how-long-baby-can-survive