| |
After-birth
breathing
Babies start to develop
their ability to breathe in the last period of pregnancy.
To enable the baby to breathe properly after birth the following
must happen:
- The change of the foetal circulation
to the "adult type" circulation
- The lung fluid production must
stop and reabsorption commence
- Lung expansion with opening up
of the airways and alveoli. The presence of surfactant
in the alveoli is essential for this to take place.
Surfactant production starts
to increase significantly between the 30th and the 32nd week.
For those born prematurely, in particular if he is born before
the 32nd week, serious respiratory disorders could develop,
in particular Respiratory
Distress Syndrome (RDS). Generally speaking,
the more immature the baby is, the higher the risk to develop
such disorders.
|
|
