Every expectant mother is looking forward to a wonderful moment when her baby is born. In the movie, all children are born very cute and have a pleasant pink skin color, but in life it's not quite like that. Some babies are born in blue, which causes great bewilderment or even fear in their mothers. In this article, we will try to figure out what color the skin should be in the newborn is normal and why the baby was born blue.
What does a newborn baby look like?
Almost every child leaves the birth canal of the mother with a pale blue skin color. He makes the first breath light, begins to breathe, and his body turns pink. Although the mother in the first minutes will not be able to consider the skin color of her crumbs, because he is all covered with white grease, which protected him while in the womb. Medical workers rinse the baby, conduct an examination and evaluate his condition on the Apgar scale. Some time after birth, the legs and arms of the crumbs may be blue, and there are situations when all the skin for several days has a bluish or even purple hue. Experts believe that this may be a consequence of oxygen starvation. A newborn with bluish skin color immediately falls under the special control of doctors until the color of his skin integers back to normal.
The first examination of the child
The first medical examination of the baby is carried out by the doctor immediately after the baby is born. The pediatrician not only checks whether everything is in order with the newborn, but also performs the necessary procedures: cleans the airways of the accumulated mucus, clamps and cuts off the umbilical cord, processes it, injects eye drops to prevent the entry of harmful bacteria. In addition, the doctor measures the height of the baby and the circumference of the head, weighs it, counts the fingers on the legs and arms, evaluates the appearance of all parts of the body.
Apgar score
The physical condition of the child is evaluated on the Apgar scale. This is a mandatory test that checks the development of each newborn. The name of the scale is due to the anesthetist Virginia Apgar, who proposed the use of this system.
To assess the condition of the newborn on the Apgar scale, the following parameters are checked: pulse, muscle tone, respiration, reflexes, skin color. Total indicators 5. Each of them is rated 0-2 points. Thus, the maximum child can score 10 points, this will be the ideal result.
However, most healthy babies get 7 to 9 Apgar points. And this is absolutely normal. By the way, this system does not evaluate the mental abilities of the child, but only the physical condition, so you do not need to attach great importance to the fact that the baby scored not the highest number of points.
The perfect baby on the Apgar table
How should a child be born in order to get the maximum number of points according to the Apgar table:
- His pulse should exceed 100 beats per minute.
- He immediately screamed and breathes well regularly.
- The baby actively moves its arms and legs.
- When reacting to an irritant (catheter in the nose), it sneezes and coughs.
- The skin color of the crumbs is normal and uniform.
Why baby skin can have a blue tint
Many mothers are interested in why the baby was born blue. According to experts, in most cases, bluish skin color is not a pathology. Often, as soon as the baby begins to breathe on its own, the skin acquires a normal pinkish tint.
If cyanosis does not go away for a long time, then this indicates the oxygen starvation that the baby experienced while in the mother’s womb. The cause of a bluish complexion can be cord entanglement, anemia, birth injury and other pathologies.
Modern diagnostic methods allow you to identify all possible deviations in the first hours of life of the crumbs, after which the doctors begin to take measures to help the baby as soon as possible. Do not panic prematurely if the baby is born blue. Causes and consequences can be very different, but according to statistics, most often cyanosis disappears in a few days.
Umbilical cord entanglement
The entanglement of the fetus with the umbilical cord is quite common in medical practice. According to statistics, it occurs in 20 - 25% of women. The main reason for the habituation is excessive fetal activity, which can be caused by hypoxia or a large formation of adrenaline in the mother’s blood (which is often associated with stress).
The entanglement can be seen by an ultrasound specialist during a routine examination. However, do not panic ahead of time. The fetus is in constant motion, because of which it can wrap itself around the umbilical cord and independently exit it several times a day. The most dangerous is the double entanglement of the umbilical cord around the neck, the consequence of which may be marked asphyxiation. Asphyxiation can have dire consequences, including even the child’s mental and physical retardation. Experts believe that the entanglement is practically not dangerous if the umbilical cord is long. But if it is short, this is a cause for concern.
It is worth noting that often the entanglement is false. That is, the ultrasound specialist during the examination can make a mistake and make a diagnosis of “entwining with the umbilical cord” even when it is not really there.
Jaundice of the newborn
Undoubtedly, all mothers want to know why the baby was born blue. However, cyanotic skin color may pass without a trace on the first day. A considerable concern in parents is the yellowish tint of the skin of the baby. This is due to such a concept as infant jaundice, which occurs due to the increased content of crumbs of bile pigment in the body.
Experts note that the yellow tint is noticeable not only on the baby's skin, even the whites of the eyes turn yellow. The cause of jaundice is increased bilirubin. A small organism tries to get rid of excess of this component as soon as possible: it enters the liver, mixes with the enzyme and is excreted in the urine. However, sometimes the liver does not have time to cope with the heavy load imposed on it, due to which the jaundice is strengthened. Normally, a yellow skin tone should pass within 2 weeks after the birth of the baby.
If jaundice is very pronounced or only increases with time, medication and various procedures are prescribed. Phototherapy is very effective. In some cases, jaundice is pathogenic. It is important to correctly determine the cause of its occurrence as soon as possible, which will avoid the sad consequences.
Daily bilirubin rate in newborns
A newborn baby is taken for analysis. This is necessary in order to keep under control all the most important indicators. The doctor pays special attention to the content of bilirubin in the blood.
Norms of bilirubin in infants:
- day from birth - up to 85 μmol / l;
- 2 days from birth - up to 180 micromol / l;
- 3-5 days - the maximum value of 256 μmol / l;
- 6 - 7 days - the maximum value of 145 μmol / l;
- 8 - 9 days - the maximum value of 110 μmol / l;
- 10 to 11 days - the maximum value of 80 μmol / l;
- 12 - 13 days - the maximum value of 45 μmol / l;
The older the baby, the lower the bilirubin levels in the blood. At the age of 2 weeks and older, the maximum value may be 20.5 μmol / L.
Conclusion
In this article, we examined why the baby was born blue, and also determined the cause of the appearance of a yellow skin tone of the baby. In addition, information is presented on the Apgar scale, which assesses the condition of each newborn.
Do not worry too much if your baby was born with imperfect skin color. Now you know that almost all children are born with a pale blue or bluish tint of the skin, but after a while everything is normal. However, you should immediately consult a doctor if the baby turns completely or partially blue after discharge from the hospital. The reasons for this may be the most serious.