Re: [ozmidwifery] mec staining

[Andrea Quanchi]

Meconium staining of the liquor in itself is not an emergency. It is an indication that at some time the baby may not have been happy.  Spontaneous emptying of the bowel contents happens in babies for two reasons, one when they are stressed or upset (hence where the saying  sh*tt*ng themselves comes from) and the other because the bowel is simply too full and overflows so to speak. The latter is quite common in babies who have stayed in utero past the estimated day of birth. Meconium is a concern if there are fresh lumps of it floating around and they get into the airway prior to birth and the baby inhales them when it tries to breathe. The presence of fresh meconium is an indication for suctining of the airways ASAP. Meconium staining on the other hand indicates that the baby has passed meconium some time ago and we often have no way of knowing what the incident was that caused it to do so.  If the liquor is uniformly stained then it happened long enough ago that the meconium has 'disolved' in the liquor.  Meconium liquor is just one part of a bigger picture that needs to be considered and is no longer considered to be a reason for routine suctioning at birth. I fully realise that this is not the impression that parents get by the reaction of many of those looking after them that make out as if it is a dire emergency.  Andrea On 15/09/2006, at 4:21 PM, Kristin Beckedahl wrote: Hi all, Are all cases of mec liquor staining considered serious or treated as an emergency?  Can you have staining and fetal heart rate be OK? Thanks, Kristin -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit to subscribe or unsubscribe.