A pulse oximeter is a small device that clips on to your child's finger. It quickly and easily checks your child's oxygen levels. It uses light beams in a sensor to estimate the amount of oxygen in your child's blood, without taking a blood sample. This helps to track how well your child's lungs are working.
A pulse oximetry screen is a noninvasive (and painless) test performed on all newborn babies to determine the level of oxygen in their blood. This test uses rays of light of different wavelengths to measure the percent of hemoglobin (the part of blood that carries oxygen) that is filled with oxygen.
If a baby's oxygen levels are too low, it can lead to a condition called hypoxia. Hypoxia is a condition in which the body tissues and organs are not getting enough oxygen. Hypoxia can cause a variety of problems, including organ damage, brain damage, and death.
We found that mean oxygen saturation at 24 to 48 hours of age is 92% to 93% and varies little with infant activity. With increasing postnatal age, there is a tendency for increased oxygen saturation during the awake states to 93% to 94%, while oxygen saturation during sleep stays the same or even decreases slightly.
Trouble Breathing: Symptoms
Tight breathing so that your child can barely speak or cry. Ribs are pulling in with each breath (called retractions). Breathing has become noisy (such as wheezing). Breathing is much faster than normal.
After 10 minutes of lack of oxygen, brain damage is imminent, and death of many brain cells and poorer recovery prognoses will result. After 15 minutes, brain damage is permanent and there is little possibility for recovery. Any time around this period without oxygen can also lead to death.
Normal oxygen saturation levels (SpO2) are between 95 to 100 percent for both adults and children. Oxygen saturation levels below 95% are considered abnormal, and the brain may be affected when SpO2 levels drop below 80 to 85 percent.
Exercise. A few mild exercises can help get your blood flowing, without taking a toll on your body. A short walk, light yoga stretches, and small pelvic exercises can bring a load of benefits to you and baby.
A newborn's normal breathing rate is about 40 to 60 times per minute. This may slow to 30 to 40 times per minute when the baby is sleeping. A baby's breathing pattern may also be different. A baby may breathe fast several times, then have a brief rest for less than 10 seconds, then breathe again.
Babies are obligate nose breathers, meaning they have a physiological necessity to breathe through the nose as opposed to breathing through the mouth until they are closer to 3-4 months old. This can mean that even slight nasal congestion can really affect their breathing and oxygen levels.
In our study, patients with nasal obstruction had mild hypoxemia and decreased oxygen saturation. Oxygenation was significantly impaired further with nasal packing (PaO2 slightly decreased while oxygen saturation is significantly decreased during packing).
One of the most common reasons for low oxygen levels for babies is premature birth. Babies that are born before 37 weeks gestation are more likely to experience respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), a condition in which the lungs are not fully developed and don't work properly.
Causes of Oxygen Deprivation at Birth
Prolapsed umbilical cord (or other problems with the umbilical cord) Abnormal maternal blood pressure (whether high or low) Eclampsia / Preeclampsia. A blockage in the baby's airway.
breathing faster than 60 breaths per minute. grunting at the end of each breath. nostrils flaring. breathing with difficulty, such as the muscles pulling in under the ribs or around the neck.
Wheezing. A tight, whistling or musical sound heard with each breath may indicate that the air passages may be smaller, making it more difficult to breathe. Stridor. An sound heard in the upper airway when the child breathes in.
Signs and Symptoms
Is your child breathing faster than usual? Retractions - Check to see if the chest pulls in with each breath, especially around the collarbone and around the ribs. Nasal flaring - Check to see if nostrils widen when breathing in. (“Ugh” sound), wheezing or like mucus is in the throat.
First: If your child cannot breathe or is in distress trying to breathe, call 911. A lack of oxygen can become serious, even deadly, in minutes. If your child is struggling to get a full breath, “call your pediatrician, even if it's the middle of the night,” says UNC Health pediatrician Edward M. Pickens, MD.
Most cases of RDS occur in babies born before 37 to 39 weeks. The more premature the baby is, the higher the chance of RDS after birth. The problem is uncommon in babies born full-term (after 39 weeks).