Meconium Aspiration

Meconium Aspiration

Ty Jones

Meconium Aspiration

When parents are expecting a new life, they plan for any and everything possible. The new baby’s name, how the nursery will be set up, if the baby will get formula or breast milk, what hospital the birth will take place, the list could go on forever. However, what parents do not plan for is their child coming into the world with a disease. Most of the diseases that infants can contract can be completely avoided with proper prenatal care; however, some diseases are out of the parent’s control. One disease that fits that description is meconium aspiration. This rare condition is caused by many factors, recognized by unique symptoms, and can be treated and possibly prevented.

Meconium aspiration is a condition that occurs when a newborn breathes in amniotic fluid and early feces, called meconium, while still inside the uterus (Meconium par. 1). These cases are unusual, because infants normally pass meconium, a dark green thick substance, few days after birth (MAS par. 1). When meconium is breathed in, or aspirated, it can partially or completely block the infant’s airway, causing the baby to have a hard time breathing or cause a lung infection (MAS par. 2). In addition, the ingestion of meconium can stop the function of an essential lung compound called surfactant. Surfactant is important in an infant’s development because it has two critical functions: preventing alveolar collapse during the breathing cycle and protecting the lungs from infections and injuries caused by pathogens (Saxena 91). As a result of meconium aspiration effects, a baby can have mild to severe difficulty breathing due to inflammation in the baby’s lungs after birth (Meconium par. 5).

The chance of contracting this infection increases as the infant nears the due date and sharply increases after the due date has passed (MAS par. 4). However, passing the due date is not the only factor that causes meconium aspiration....