Green water in labor

One of the first signs of the imminent onset of labor is the discharge of amniotic fluid. But the water does not always discharge itself, there are cases of delay in this process and the obstetrician-gynecologist has to break the integrity of the bladder in which the fetus is located. At the same time, he carefully looks at the shade and other characteristics of the liquid. Normally, they are transparent, but if the doctor observes green water during labor, then you should be wary, they can have negative consequences for the newborn, although this does not always happen.

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The reason for green waters during childbirth

Gynecologists are sounding the alarm. Recently, cases caused by green waters during childbirth have become more frequent and this problem is becoming global. After all, it is not known how much this will affect the overall development of the fetus in the mother's womb. But there is no need to panic, since the causes of green waters during childbirth are different and differ in the degree of impact on the body. It is worth noting that this problem has not been fully studied and is at the testing stage.

What are the causes of green waters during childbirth?

• In most cases, the greenish or dark color of the amniotic fluid is due to the presence of the original fetal stool (meconium). The fecal mass may be released due to a lack of oxygen in the baby in the mother's womb or a stressful situation during childbirth.
• This can also happen when a mother carries her baby past term. At this stage, the placenta simply stops doing its job.
• Infectious and cold diseases during pregnancy can also cause green waters during childbirth.
• Genetic pathology of the fetus, but such cases are quite rare.
• Green waters during labor can also be caused by the food the mother ate the day before. This color can be caused by apple juice or eating fresh green peas. There is no clear confirmation of this, but this option should not be discounted.

Why does green water appear during labor?

An experienced obstetrician-gynecologist can guess how close to normal the pregnancy was based on the shade of the amniotic fluid.

The norm of amniotic fluid is its transparent nature. This means that everything is fine with the baby, and he came into this world absolutely healthy. In this case, the doctor does not interfere with the course of development of childbirth, and the child appears in this world independently, at a clearly allotted time for him.

A change in the color palette of the fluid that surrounds the baby in the mother's tummy most often only means that the baby simply took a poop. This could happen either from a stressful situation in which the baby found itself, or from oxygen starvation (lack of oxygen "supplied" to the baby). But if the analysis revealed a high level of contamination of the amniotic fluid, it is necessary to sound the alarm. This can only mean one thing. Something went wrong during the pregnancy and the situation requires immediate, sometimes even emergency, medical intervention.

In a situation where the mother's water breaks at home, you should immediately call an ambulance or taxi and go to the hospital. Only a doctor knows what measures are necessary to ensure that the child does not swallow this harmful liquid and is born healthy.

If the woman in labor was already in pathology when the green waters broke, it is necessary to immediately inform her attending physician, who will prescribe additional examination. Most often in such a situation, the obstetrician-gynecologist goes for a cesarean section, trying to remove the baby from the contaminated environment in the shortest possible time. It often happens that looking for the reason - why are the waters green during labor? - is useless. No doctor will give a clear answer to this question. The birth has passed and this incident can be forgotten, but not if the woman is still planning to become a mother. Although each subsequent pregnancy proceeds differently and it may happen that she will not have to face this problem during the next birth.

Consequences of green water during childbirth

It is impossible to definitely call the presence of green water during childbirth a bad sign. After all, during the birth itself, the baby could simply not cope with the unexpected stress and simply poop. In this case, he did not have time to swallow this liquid. Everything is fine. Such a situation during childbirth is considered normal.

But there are situations that should alert the doctor who is delivering the baby. Since untimely provision of proper assistance can lead to quite serious negative consequences.

If the waters are greenish and have already broken, but labor still does not occur. The obstetrician-gynecologist immediately prescribes an unscheduled cesarean section. Since such a situation may indicate the possibility of oxygen starvation in the newborn. And hypoxia is fraught with partial death of brain cells, which can lead to the likelihood of mental retardation in the newborn baby and other unpleasant consequences.

In this case, the baby can swallow toxic liquid, which leads to acute poisoning and complete intoxication of the baby's body. And what such a turn of events is fraught with is unknown, one can only guess about the upcoming consequences. In this case, everything depends on the competence of the doctor, who must quickly and skillfully clear the baby's airways.

Drawing conclusions from all of the above, we can say for sure that green waters are not the only indicator of the health of a newborn. Quite often, when it is present, babies are born in good health, scoring high 8-9 points on the Apgar scale. But there are other examples when both the amniotic fluid is clean and the baby is not quite okay. Therefore, cause-and-effect relationships in the case of green water during childbirth are not observed.

Based on this, it can be stated that in this situation, the overwhelming role in the positive outcome of childbirth is given to the professional skills and experience of the doctor who delivers the baby.

Therefore, when assessing the health of a newborn, green waters during childbirth are not considered a determining indicator.

Any woman expecting a child (and it doesn't matter which pregnancy it is) should know that both during the period of gestation and during labor, there are multiple factors that affect both the mother's well-being and the development of the fetus. And green waters during labor should be a warning sign, but should not cause panic. The expectant mother should simply be more attentive to herself and her health, especially in the nine months before labor. After all, as the people say: "Better safe than sorry!"

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