Before birth a baby leads a somewhat sheltered life, but from the moment he is born a new phase in his development starts. He has to adjust to a completely new environment. Some things, like breathing, for example, he can do instantaneously without any help, but in many other ways he is entirely helpless and dependent on his mother's assistance.
The first cry
This is probably the most important event in anyone's life. At the moment of birth the baby can no longer get any oxygen from the mother and has to gasp to obtain oxygen from the air for the first time. A newborn baby usually takes his first breath as soon as he has been born and then starts crying as a reflex action, probably to open up his lungs more efficiently and fill them with air as before birth they were filled with fluid. (It is quite amazing that fetus does not make use of lungs for breathing instead what they use is blood. All air that a fetus requires comes through blood.) Anyway after birth the midwife or doctor clear all the fluid from throat to make certain that baby has a clear passage to breathe air into his lungs. At one minute of age, and usually at five minutes as well, the baby is assessed by a system known as the Apgar score. It works on a scale which give a baby 10 points if he is in absolutely tip-top condition. The record of the Apgar score is useful for the doctor to assess any lack of oxygen at the moment of birth and will also guide him in deciding whether any treatment is necessary. The two most important parts of the score are heart rate, which will be very low if the baby lacks oxygen, and breathing, which may be absent.
If the baby does not take a breath immediately, it may be necessary to blow some air into his lungs so that oxygen reaches the blood. This can be handled quite well by the doctors. Mothers are often anxious if they do not hear the baby cry at once. Remember that it is very common for a baby to take a minute or two before crying, even if he is breathing quite well.
Newborn begins breathing, his first breaths
It is a remarkable feeling to observe a newborn take his first breaths. All babies do not breathe in same pattern, it is common to find that some newborns would cry out loud for a few minutes while others may just give out one or two cries and then calm down after that. In fact, babies do practice out breathing motion quite early when they are in the womb. These movements can be felt by mothers as pulsations in their abdomen during the later part of the pregnancy.
It is important to note that while most babies would breathe normally at birth, it is important for doctors to clear all the passages like mouth and nose to aid in newborn's breathing. The pediatrician present in delivery room will take note of the pattern of baby's breathing. They also take note of color of the skin, heart beats, tone of muscles, and overall activity of the newborn baby. Sometimes babies are blue at birth which is a sign of improper breathing but they quickly attain a pink color indicating healthy breathing and blood flow.
There are times when there is a pause before baby initiates breathing. In such cases, the nurse or physician present rubs or pinches the baby’s toes. This pause may be due to several factors like distressed or prolonged labor which may distress the baby’s brain and the ‘Epicenter of breathing in brain’ may take a little time to start functioning properly and sending out signals normally. Also too if the delivery involved drugs especially pain killers, the baby may be a little slow to respond but doctors are quite adept at managing this and the babies generally start normal breathing soon.
