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Waiting to Exhale

Premature Babies and Apnea

By Amy E. Tracy

Worried that their infants may stop breathing, many new parents check on their sleeping babies, but for Nicole Trout of Collins, Mo., this fear was very real. Her daughter, Casey, born four months early and weighing 1 pound, 10 ounces, frequently stopped breathing during her 104-day stay in the hospital. Fortunately, a monitor signaled the nurses to come quickly and help Casey (and her mom) begin breathing again.

Casey experienced apnea of prematurity, or AOP, pauses in breathing that lasted 20 seconds or more. Changes in a baby's color to pale, bluish or gray, a change in muscle tone to limp or rigid and a slow heart rate (called bradycardia) often accompany AOP.

Caused by immature respiratory centers in the brain (the brain isn't able to remind the lungs to breathe on a regular basis), apnea is the most common problem of babies born early, and in fact, about 70 percent of those born six weeks early are affected by AOP. Other common problems including infection, low blood sugar, a lack of oxygen or a digestive problem can also cause apnea.

If a baby has apnea, "it will generally be seen during the first week following birth," says Berry Peterson, a pediatric nurse practitioner at The Apnea Center of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta in Atlanta, Ga. Preemies at risk for apnea are hooked to a cardiorespiratory monitor, and wires or a belt leading to the monitor are attached to the baby's chest. The monitor sounds an alarm if it doesn't detect a breath for a preset number of seconds. Treatment includes periodic stimulation that reminds babies to breathe (some hospitals even have beds that rock), medication that stimulates breathing and/or supplemental oxygen.

According to Peterson, preemies typically outgrow AOP about a month after their full-term due date. Depending on the baby's health, this may mean going home on a monitor.

Want to see more?

• Going Home Alone: When Preemies Need to Stay in the NICU
• Miracle Birth Stories of Very Premature Babies
• Preemies: When Should Technology Intervene to Sustain Life?
• Talk about it!

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