Inside the
womb the child is in a warm protected
environment. When it is brought out it experiences a total change in the
environment. The outside temperature and air stimulates the skin
(proprioceptive impulse). This stimulation makes the child take a deep breath (a
good gasp). When the air gets into the lungs in the first gasp it results in a
cry. It repeatedly takes up this deep breathing and establishes the regular
respiratory cycle.
This cry is
one of the five parameters (Apgar count) to assess the child’s condition soon
after birth. This is done at one minute and five minute after birth. In a
normal child the first cry is expected to be a vigorous or lustrous one. A
varied cry is also a way of interpreting the condition of the child (normal or
otherwise), according to Dr. Ananthakrishna, an eminent paediatrician.
If the cry
is irritable in nature it may be a child with brain injury. If it is feeble cry
it could be due to a respiratory problem or a brain problem such as
intracranial bleeding or asphyxia. The feeble cry may also indicate a problem
in the lung such as immaturity of the lungs in a low birth weight baby
(pre-maturity). It could also be due to aspiration of fluid from the bag of
membranes (bag in which the child floats in the intrauterine period) which
encircles the child.
The aspiration
contents could also be the meconium (first dark motion passed by the child). The
cry thus becomes a very valuable index for assessment as a routine in the
newborn nurseries.
No comments:
Post a Comment