General after birth questions

Question 1

What does APGAR stand for?

Answer 1

appearance, pulse, grimace, activity and respiration

Question 2

What APGAR score would be deemed as “fairly low”?

Answer 2

4-6

Question 3

When should an APGAR score be taken?

Answer 3

1 and 5 minutes after birth

Question 4

What medical term describes a baby who has more than 60 breaths per minute?

Answer 4

tachypnea

Question 5

What period of time after birth may a baby have a second wind of activity?

Answer 5

4-6hrs after birth

Question 6

What things will initiate breathing after birth?

Answer 6

increased CO2, decreased O2, stimulation of breathing center in medulla, compression of the chest at birth and decreased blood pH.

Question 7

What substance ensures effective respiration, when does this develop in the fetus, and what can be done for premature babies?

Answer 7

surfacant, enough produced by 34 weeks, steroids help premature babies produce surfacant.

Question 8

When the baby is in the womb, is its pulmonary vascular resistance low or high?

Answer 8

high

Question 9

What opening allows blood to flow from the right atrium to the left atrium in the fetal heart?

Answer 9

foreman ovale

Question 10

Which direction to the foreman ovale and ductus arteriosis make blood travel?

Answer 10

right to left shunt

Question 11

Why does little blood travel to the lungs? How much blood travels to the lungs?

Answer 11

Because of the foreman ovale and ductus areteriosis, but also because the lungs are at high pressure
only 10-12% of blood flows to the lungs

Question 12

How many veins are there in the umbillical cord and where does it travel to?

Answer 12

there is only one umbilical vein, it travels from the placenta to the babies liver, and it contains oxygenated blood

Question 13

What main vessel delivers oxygentaed blood to body?

Answer 13

the aorta

Question 14

What vessels carry deoxygenated blood to the placenta, and how many of them are there?

Answer 14

arteries, 2 arteries

Question 15

Describe the passage of blood once it has entered the liver, through the umbillical vein?

Answer 15

the blood now travels into the ductus venosus, and into the inferior vena cava, to travel up to the right atrium

Question 16

Describe what happens to the alveoli at birth

Answer 16

air enters the alveoli, which pushes the fluid out into the capillaries surrounding. Oxygen also enters the arterioles, causing them to dilate and resistance to fall. It is now easier for deoxygenated blood to flow into the lungs, therefore the pressure in the right side of the heart also falls. ONce oxygenated by the lungs, the blood can now flow again into the left atrium, and due to the low pressure in the right side of the side and bigger pressure on the left side, the foreman ovale opening closes.

Question 17

What happens to the ductus arteriosis after birth?

Answer 17

Within the first few hours of life, it contracts due to high oxygen levels now. Secondly, because the placenta has been removed, and is no longer releasing prostoglandins, the ductus areteriosis is encouraged to close.

Question 18

Name three difficulties a new born will face when trying to maintain temperature?

Answer 18

they have a large surface area, thin layer of fat, reduced ability to vasoconstrict, limited metabolic substrates, and no shivering.

Question 19

How does a new born therefore maintain its temperature?

Answer 19

Relies on lipolysis of brown fat, which only develops in the final weeks of pregnancy. Skin to skin is important. Making sure baby is dried off straight after birth. Feeding to ensure metabolic substrates are formed.

Question 20

How low can a new borns blood sugar levels be after birth?

Answer 20

they can be as low as 2

Question 21

When should glucose begin to rise?

Answer 21

3-4 hours after birth.