The issue of a baby passing meconium in utero is yet another example of
how medical legal fears take precedence over the well being of the
mother and child.

About 20% of infants pass meconium in utero.  The vast majority have no
problems at all.  In fact, there is now an ever increasing school of
thought that meconium getting into the lungs is not the cause of the
severe respiratory problems, at least not the sole cause.  Infants that
are truly asphyxiated, and, as a result, pass meconium in utero, have
respiratory distress as a result of the asphyxiation plus, perhaps,
inhaling meconium.

The infants that will run into problems run into problems almost
immediately after birth, within minutes, and it is evident that they are
in trouble.  There is no need to put them on an oxygen saturation meter,
because physical signs will immediately show which baby is in trouble
(rapid breathing, indrawing, cyanosis).  There is no need to separate a
healthy newborn and his mother, just because the baby passed meconium in
utero.  It might be worthwhile, however, to clean him off so the mother
does not get a green baby.  But that only takes a minute.

Jack Newman, MD, FRCPC