Wanted to share, and maybe solicit advice...

I was caring for preemie (35-36 wk.) twins, about an hour old. Was teaching
mom to tandem breastfeed, because she was dubious that it was possible. It
was a tad awkward for me to help mom to arrange, but both babies seemed to
settle in. After having babies at breast for perhaps two minutes, mom says,
"This baby looks kind of dark, doesn't she?" Baby was dusky. Heart rate of
60, apneic.

I took baby to the radiant warmer, where we resuscitated the baby. Her heart
rate came right back up after about 30 seconds of being "bagged"
(positive-pressure ventilation). In fact, after we made sure she was okay
(which probably took about 10 minutes total) the baby looked at us and
started smacking her lips, as if to say, "You interrupted my dinner!"

We think baby choked on mucus and/or colostrum. But then, dad asked, "Will
the baby have brain damage?" He kept asking, even after being reassured that
the baby looked fine.

So, WILL the baby be "fine"? Or should I be expecting a lawsuit?

I shudder to think what would have happened if these kids had been at home,
and mom had been tandem nursing in a darkened room. But, at the same time, I
co-slept with all four of my kids, and have seen Dr. McKenna's video of
sleeping moms with their babies.

Thanks for listening, and any advice you can offer -

Tammy in Colorado (RN, BSN, IBCLC)

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