How common is it for a baby not to breathe when they are born? And how much of a problem is it?

[neolara]

I'm now pregnant with number 3 and am considering where I should give birth.

Both of my other children did not breath by themselves when they were born and had to be given oxygen to get them going. I don't know how long it took for my first child to breath, but she was whipped away pretty quickly by a midwife who made us press the emergency button for extra back up. No-one came for at least 5 mins but fortunately my dd was fine. I guess it can't have been more than a minute or so before she breathed by herself.

We chose to have a homebirth for our second as the community midwife assured us that the hospital midwife had over-reacted and it was normal for babies to take a while to breathe by themselves. However, when my ds was born, he also came out blue and took 2 minutes to start breathing, only after he had been vigorously rubbed and given oxygen. He had an apgar score of 6 at 1 minute, 7 at 5 mins and 9 at 10 mins.

Both my children were born at 37 weeks (37 +3 and 37 + 0), and I had very quick births (e.g. 4 1/2 hours from first twinge to baby being born for my first child). I imagine my third child's birth will be similar.

I guess I'm undecided about where to give birth again. Our experience in the hospital was pretty shocking (for other reasons as well as the non-apprearance of emergency back up) and our home birth was pretty fantastic (apart from the non-breathing bit). I'm a bit freaked out because of the non-breathing bit and wonder whether it would be irresponsible not to go into hospital for no. 3. However, if non-breathing is relatively common then maybe I shouldn't worry too much.

Anyone else's experience would be appreciated.

[whomovedmychocolate]

Hmm that's a toughie - if you have short labours you may not have a lot of choice! I would suggest if you have a homebirth, as long as they have some oxygen there, it'd probably be okay. Some babies can be shocked by fast births and it's very common for babies to be born blue - they don't pink up till they take their first breath.

Is there a local midwife unit you could go to instead of your local hospital - have you looked at the Dr Foster Guide?

[nickytwotimes]

Ds didn't breath for a minute or so after birth.
I was terrified, but he was fine after a bit of help from the medical team. The emergency team were there in seconds. Fortunately, my hospital experience was great all round, so I would have no qualms about doing the same next time.
I have to say that I do not know what would have happened to ds without emergency care. I am too scared to attempt a home birht myself, but that is easy for me to say as I had excellent care. I don't know what you should do!

[Knax]

wouldn't risk a home birth myself - consequences of it going wrong not worth it imo

[Chellesgirl]

My dd took a while to breathe, they never suctioned her mouth nor give her oxygen. She then started to grunt and that was it. She never cried all day and that night ended up in NICU after my mom noticed her lips turned blue. She was put on oxygen and was fine after that.

I can truly tell you it has steered me more towards having a homebirth. Knowing the midwives were incapable of spotting a poorly breathing baby makes me really deteste the NHS right now. So an independent midwife is my next choice. As long as the midwife is carrying oxygen I dont see the problem. He/she can be transferred if necessary.

[DaisyMooSteiner]

Chellesgirl, what makes you think an independent midwife would necessairly be any better at spotting a poorly breathing baby than an NHS midwife?

[Chellesgirl]

I dont think that at all, the midwives I had were unable, im not saying all midwives are the same. I just feel that an independent midwife will be able to listen to what I want and the needs of my baby far better than that of the midwives I had in hospital. If they thought she was breathing ok, why didnt they let me hold my dd for 2 hrs??? They just left her on the bed ' grunting' and walked out of the room! I just dont want that again.

[TinkerBellesMumandFiFi2]

They have oxygen until the cord is cut so how about saying no to the injection and having the cord left at least till baby is breathing? Not all babies breathe straight away but they have got some time to start, a minute can seem like a very long time when you're waiting to hear your baby cry.

[Chellesgirl]

Its a good idea TinkerBellesMumandFiFi2 You can leave the cord attached for 10 minutes until baby breathes. This gives the baby more chance of gaining more red blood cells that carry the oxygen.

[OatcakeCravings]

Err on the side of caution this is your baby you are talking about!

[Chellesgirl]

Riven can you let me know what a HIE is plz? New to all this talk.Thankyou.

[TinkerBellesMumandFiFi2]

You can leave the cord attached as long as you want, it doesn't even hsve to be cut it will break on it's own when the blood stops flowing.

I'm sorry about your daughter Riven

[madwomanintheattic]

hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy? or something?

dd2 didn't make first gasp for 8 1/2 minutes and did not achieve regular resp so was ventilated and scbu. she has brain damage from hypoxia too.

i don't think it's entirely relevant to your story tbh, but i'm not even allowed in the comfy room in the hospital lol

[handbagqueen]

DD2 didn't breathe herself, we were in hospital where 10 people rushed into the room as she was being pulled out and whisked her away. I wasn't aware of any of this as I was high on epidural and gas and air, but DH said it was the worst 5mins of his life as she was very blue and lifeless. The midwife did say it was common, but we were glad we were in hospital as they had everything and everyone they needed.

[AnnVan]

My DS didn't breathe for a couple of minutes after birth. The medics were brilliant, although it was a tense time for DP, as he was watching it going on, and I was bleeding badly, so he didn't know which of us to stay by. I personally will go for a hospital birth again. (when the time comes that is)

[PrettySprinkles]

My DS was born at home because he decided to arrive much quicker than the ambulance. His lips and mouth turned a bit blue and my DH rubbed his tummy with the towel he wrapped him in because he'd 'seen them do it on the telly'. He gave a little cough, then a big scream and then was fine.

I think problems can occur wherever you decide, or end up, giving birth. You just have to go with whatever suits your circumstances. I hope you have a happy and healthy labour, whatever you decide.

[neolara]

Thank you all for your comments.

I guess that for some babies non-breathing is not a problem and for others it is.

Riven and Madwoman, I'm very sorry to hear about your DDs. It must have been a terrifying thing for you both to experience.

I think my decision about where to have the baby would be easier if the hospital emergency procedure had actually worked when there was clearly a problem. To be honest, we had much better care during our home birth.