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Subject:
From:
Daniel Hirsch <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Lactation Information and Discussion <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 13 Jun 2000 15:56:26 -0400
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Meconium aspiration is actually primarily an in utero event.  Due to
stress (for example placental insufficiency, chorioamnionitis,
abruptio placenta) or sometimes unkown reasons, the fetus passes the
meconium in utero.  The continued stress or distress than triggers
fetal gasping and (in utero) the baby inhales the mixture of amniotic
fluid and meconium.  Depending on the severity of the meconium
aspiration and the severity of the primary process (the factor causing
the baby to pass meconium and gasp in utero) the baby can be affeted
severely, mildly or anywhere in between.

One of the problems caused by mec aspiration is that the meconium
inactivates the lung surfactant, a substance which each and every one
of us needs to breath normally and survive!  Clinical and animal
studies have found that giving the baby with mec aspiration either
recombinant or bovine surfactant (replacing the inactivated
surfactant) may significantly decrease morbidity and mortality.  In
other words, the babies do better if given surfactant.

Your sister's child needs breastmilk just as much as anyone else in a
NICU!  However, there are no studies on the effects of human milk vs.
formula on the outcomes of newborns with meconium aspiration.

Danny Hirsch, MD, FAAP, CLC
Director, Lactation Institute of Westchester
Attending Neonatologist
Westchester & Sound Shore Medical Centers
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
New York Medical College
Valhalla, NY, USA
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