Intrauterine hypoxia of the fetus is a dangerous process, which, unfortunately, is very common. The consequences of hypoxia can adversely affect the development of the fetus and the activity of its internal organs. The life and health of the unborn child largely depend on timely diagnosis and treatment.
Waiting for a miracle
The period of pregnancy is a very exciting and joyful time for every woman. But anxiety for his health is added to the joyful anticipation of the birth of the baby. The expectant mother has a heavy burden of responsibility. For nine months, a new life has been developing and growing in it. The health of an unborn baby directly depends on the well-being of his mother.
There are many recommendations on how to monitor your health during pregnancy. This applies to nutrition, lifestyle, emotional stress and much more. Failure to follow these simple rules can lead to adverse consequences and damage the health of the fetus.
One of these consequences may be intrauterine hypoxia, which entails violations in the development of the fetus and, in some cases, fading of pregnancy. To avoid this, the expectant mother must carefully study the risk factors that await her during pregnancy, and try to prevent their appearance.
What is hypoxia?
"Hypoxia" is an ancient Greek word that literally translates as "low oxygen". This term refers to oxygen starvation, which is experienced by the body or its individual organs due to the influence of certain factors.
With prolonged oxygen starvation, irreversible morphological processes occur in the human body. They change the structure of tissues and organs and disrupt their functional abilities. With oxygen starvation, the fetus slows down and the formation of internal organs is disturbed, the child may be born with a lag in the development of vital systems or die. These are the consequences of fetal hypoxia. The most affected by hypoxia are the heart, kidneys, liver and central nervous system.
Oxygen deficiency can accompany any disease or occur as an independent process, entailing defects of internal organs. For this reason, hypoxia cannot be classified as a disease, it is a pathological process, the same as inflammation or dystrophy.
Symptoms of fetal hypoxia
It was noted that in the first three months of pregnancy, oxygen starvation develops quite rarely. Most often this can happen in the second and third trimester. This is due to the fact that with the growth of the fetus there also arises an increase in its oxygen demand, and in some unfavorable circumstances, the pregnant woman’s body cannot cope with this task.
Oxygen deficiency in a baby is difficult to detect without conducting diagnostic tests, especially in early pregnancy. But there are some signs of intrauterine hypoxia, which should be an alarming signal for the expectant mother.
The first thing you need to pay attention to is the activity of the fetus. The norm is approximately ten movements per day. In the initial stages of hypoxia, the baby begins to feel discomfort, therefore it is excessively active. With a longer lack of oxygen, the number of movements decreases. In addition, intrauterine hypoxia may be characterized by frequent hiccups of the fetus.
If the deviation of the number of movements from the norm and frequent hiccups are not associated with the physical exertion of the expectant mother or being in an uncomfortable position, you need to contact a specialist as soon as possible, who will identify the cause of this fetal behavior and, if necessary, prescribe treatment.
Causes of occurrence
The causes of fetal hypoxia of the fetus may be different. These include diseases that a pregnant woman suffers from, placental abnormalities, infection, fetal malformations.
Of the diseases of the mother leading to fetal hypoxia, the following can be distinguished:
- anemia;
- disturbances in the work of the cardiovascular system;
- respiratory diseases;
- diabetes.
In addition, the bad habits that the expectant mother suffers affect the baby's health. Prevention of intrauterine hypoxia includes complete cessation of smoking and alcohol. Any deviation from the generally accepted norms of the course of pregnancy can lead to oxygen starvation of the fetus. Such deviations can be detachment and premature aging of the placenta, overriding of the fetus or increased uterine tone.
Another factor leading to oxygen deficiency is the incompatibility of the Rh factor of the mother and child. Such incompatibility can lead to hemolytic disease of the fetus, which is often accompanied by hypoxia. In addition to the above factors, the effect can have a mechanical effect on the fetus - entwining the umbilical cord, squeezing the head during childbirth and so on.
Causes of intrauterine hypoxia can also become the causes of other, no less serious complications. To avoid adverse effects on fetal development, the expectant mother must be observed by a qualified specialist throughout the entire period of pregnancy.
Types of fetal hypoxia
Depending on how long oxygen starvation lasts, intrauterine hypoxia has two forms: acute and chronic. Acute hypoxia is characterized by a sharp decrease in incoming oxygen. Most often, the acute form occurs during the birth process or with heavy uterine bleeding. Chronic intrauterine hypoxia formed over a long period of time, gradually disrupting the developmental processes of the fetus.
The degree of progression of oxygen starvation
Three degrees of development of fetal hypoxia were distinguished. At first, the fetus, not having received the required amount of oxygen, tries to compensate for its lack. The first degree is to compensate for the lack of oxygen. In the baby's body, changes begin to occur, aimed at increasing the amount of incoming oxygen. The level of a hormone that increases the tone of blood vessels, cortisol, is increasing. Elevated levels of cortisol stimulate an increase in the volume of blood that circulates through the vessels, and an increase in heart rate. The composition of the blood changes: the level of hemoglobin and red blood cells increases. In addition, there is an increased activity of the baby. He begins to move more intensively and make breathing movements, despite the closed glottis.
At the second stage of partial compensation, the protective functions of the body determine the priority organs, which are supplied with oxygen in the first place. Such organs are the heart and brain, respectively, other organs (kidneys, lungs, gastrointestinal tract) receive blood that is poor in oxygen, which leads to disturbances in their development and work. A lack of oxygen also leads to the breakdown of glucose. This helps to reduce the supply of energy in the cells of the body and impaired metabolism.
Chronic intrauterine hypoxia of the fetus has a third stage of progression - decompensation. Externally, the stage manifests itself as a decrease in fetal activity and a decrease in heart rate. The work of protective mechanisms aimed at providing organs with oxygen gives malfunctions. Cortisol is produced in insufficient quantities, respectively, the blood flow slows down, and the volume of circulating blood decreases. Blood is saturated with carbon dioxide, blood coagulation is impaired, which leads to blood clots and bleeding.
Diagnostic measures
To determine the presence and degree of oxygen starvation, instrumental diagnostic methods help. The first such method is cardiotocography (CTG). This diagnostic method is completely safe. The cardiotocography apparatus continuously records the fetal heart rate and uterine contractions. An ultrasound chart displays a tachogram. This is a graph that reflects the number of contractions of the heart muscle over the allotted time period. A strain gauge sensor measures the fluctuations in pressure and uterine tone, displaying a hysterogram - a graph of the muscular activity of the uterus. CTG counts the number of movements and allows you to track the dependence of the heart rate on the activity of the fetus.
Starting from the twentieth week of pregnancy, an ultrasound scan with dopplerography is possible. This method is aimed at studying blood flow from the mother to the placenta and from the placenta to the fetus and can detect violations of the uteroplacental circulation. Using this diagnostic method, you can also determine the quality of amniotic fluid.
In addition to the above methods, the specialist listens to the fetal heart to evaluate its performance with the help of an obstetric stethoscope. However, this method is inaccurate, therefore, if a heart abnormality is suspected, the doctor directs the pregnant woman to undergo CTG and ultrasound.
Treatment
Treatment of intrauterine hypoxia requires observation of a pregnant woman in a hospital. The woman is provided with complete rest and a therapeutic method of treatment is prescribed, which is aimed not only at enriching the blood with oxygen, but also at identifying the true cause of hypoxia. As a rule, abnormalities of the course of pregnancy, such as intrauterine hypoxia of the fetus, are the consequences or symptoms of a disease.
The doctor prescribes to the pregnant woman drugs that reduce blood viscosity, improve blood flow from the mother to the placenta, and normalize the metabolism between the mother and the fetus. The prescription of other drugs and procedures depends on the cause of hypoxia, if it is identified, and is aimed at eliminating this cause.
With positive dynamics, the patient is prescribed and given recommendations for the prevention of hypoxia. These include walks in the fresh air, decreased physical activity, rejection of bad habits and compliance with certain rules in food. If the treatment was unsuccessful, and oxygen deficiency persists, prompt removal of the fetus is required. If the gestational age exceeds twenty eight weeks, the doctor prescribes an operation - cesarean section.
Prevention
There are a number of simple recommendations, compliance with which will help reduce the risk of oxygen deficiency of the baby. Before planning a pregnancy, a woman needs to deal with the treatment of chronic diseases, get rid of bad habits. When pregnancy occurs, it is important to register with a medical institution early. Throughout the duration of pregnancy, you must regularly visit a doctor, take tests and do an ultrasound. This will provide control over the health of the pregnant woman and the baby, and, therefore, will help to avoid the development of possible pathological conditions of the fetus.
An important aspect in the prevention of intrauterine hypoxia is the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle. You need to spend a lot of time in the fresh air, sleep eight hours a day, balance your diet.
During pregnancy, you need to replenish the supply of vitamins and nutrients, the level of which decreases due to the additional load on the body. The level of calcium, magnesium and other minerals should be maintained normal. Particularly important is the control of iron in the blood, as its low level leads to anemia - one of the main causes of hypoxia. Vitamin preparations should be taken as prescribed by the doctor.
Effects
The consequences of intrauterine hypoxia depend on its type. Chronic hypoxia, which began in the early stages of pregnancy, when the formation of vital systems of the fetus is just beginning, can lead to the formation of congenital malformations. Hypoxia suffered in late pregnancy can cause fetal growth retardation, and also leads to ischemia and necrosis of individual organs. A newborn baby often has a shortage of height and weight, as well as a difficult adaptation period (body restructuring in a new environment). In the future, oxygen starvation experienced in the womb can cause diseases such as epilepsy and cerebral palsy.
Acute intrauterine hypoxia of the child leads to ischemia and tissue necrosis. If acute hypoxia occurred during childbirth, there are several possible consequences, depending on the cause of oxygen starvation:
- The respiratory tract of the baby is not completely cleared of amniotic fluid. In this case, the development of pneumonia is possible, in the worst case, the death of a child from suffocation.
- Loss of a large volume of blood. A newborn develops hemorrhagic shock, which violates the mechanisms of operation of all systems. Under such circumstances, there is a threat to the life of not only the baby, but also the mother.
After the birth of a baby who has undergone hypoxia in the womb, he needs constant monitoring by qualified specialists. The effects of oxygen starvation may not appear in the first days of life, but much later. Therefore, it is very important to monitor changes and abnormalities in the development of the baby in order to identify and prevent the development of the adverse effects of hypoxia.