Respiratory Distress Syndrome

Cardiac and respiratory conditions can be very hard on the child and the families of the child. There are many different cardiac and respiratory conditions that can affect a child, as well as their families. The great thing is that many of these conditions we are able to treat. The cardiac condition that I decided to research is the Tetralogy of Fallot and the respiratory condition is Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Tertralogy of Fallot is a birth defect and affects normal blood flow. During development in the mother’s womb, the heart of the baby does not form correctly and this condition is the result. This condition is a congenital defect, meaning that the child is born with this condition. There are four defects of the heart and the blood …show more content…
This breathing disorder rarely affects those children who were carried full-term. RDS is most commonly found in premature infants who were born about six weeks before their due dates. Respiratory Distress Syndrome is fairly common in premature infants because their lungs are unable to make enough surfactant. Surfactant is a liquid that coats the inside of the lungs. This liquid helps the lungs open up so that the child is able to breathe once they are born. Without this surfactant, the lungs collapse and the infant has to work extremely hard to breathe. The child is then unable to breathe enough oxygen to support their organs. This lack of oxygen can cause damage to the brain and organs is treatment is not given. Most infants who had developed RDS will show signs of breathing problems and a lack of oxygen within the first few hours after …show more content…
However, due to our better knowledge and medical advances, most infants who had RDS survive. When a fetus is in the womb, they begin to make surfactant during the third trimester of pregnancy, weeks twenty-six through delivery. Those infants who are pre-maturely have not developed the proper amount of surfactant which causes RDS. Others facts that may increase the risk of an infant developing respiratory distress syndrome is any type of infection, the mother having diabetes, or the mother having a lot of stress during the baby’s delivers, especially if the mother has lost a lot of blood. Having an emergency cesarean delivery can also increase the risk that an infant will develop RDS. Signs and symptoms of respiratory distress syndrome will usually show within the first few hours of life. Some of these symptoms will include rapid, shallow breathing, shard pulling in of the chest below and between the ribs, grunting sounds, and flaring of the nostrils, (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute). The infant may also take pauses between each breath, this may last for a few seconds. This is called