Respiratory Distress Syndrome in Newborns

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KEY POINTS

• If your baby is born before the lungs have matured, your baby may develop respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). A baby with RDS has trouble breathing because the lungs tend to collapse with each breath.
• The treatment is to help your baby breathe until your baby outgrows the problem. Your baby will be monitored and will receive oxygen.
• Follow the full course of treatment prescribed by your baby’s healthcare provider. Ask your provider how to take care of your baby at home.

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What is respiratory distress syndrome?

If your baby is born before the lungs have matured, your baby may develop respiratory distress syndrome (RDS). A baby with RDS has trouble breathing because the lungs tend to collapse with each breath. Most babies recover completely within the first weeks of life. Almost all babies who have RDS grow up to be healthy, normal children. RDS does not cause brain damage or long-term problems with learning, growth, or behavior.

What causes RDS?

Babies usually start making a substance called surfactant sometime between the 30th and 36th weeks of pregnancy. Surfactant helps keep the air sacs in the lungs from sticking to each other when your baby breathes after birth. RDS can happen if your baby is born without enough surfactant in the lungs. It is most common in babies born before 37 weeks.

What are the symptoms?

Symptoms may include:

• Fast breathing
• Grunting sounds when breathing out
• Pulling in of the chest wall when taking a breath
• Flaring of the nostrils when breathing in
• Having a bluish color of the skin and lips, which means that your baby needs more oxygen

How is it diagnosed?

Symptoms are usually seen right after the birth. Your baby’s provider will examine your baby. Tests may include:

• Blood tests
• Chest X-ray

How is it treated?

The treatment is to help your baby breathe until your baby outgrows the problem.

Monitoring

Your baby will be attached to a monitor that constantly measures oxygen level, heart rate, and breathing rate.

Medicines

Your baby may be given artificial surfactant to help keep the airways open. Your baby may also be given fluids and medicine by IV.

Breathing support

Your baby will be given warm, moist oxygen. Your baby may need a breathing machine for a few days or weeks.

How can I take care of my baby?

Follow the full course of treatment prescribed by your baby’s healthcare provider. Ask your provider:

• How and when you will get your baby’s test results
• How long it will take your baby to recover
• How to take care of your baby at home
• What symptoms or problems you should watch for and what to do if your baby has them

Make sure you know when your baby should come back for a checkup. Keep all appointments for provider visits or tests.

How can RDS be prevented?

If your healthcare provider thinks that your baby is going to be born early, your provider may do a test of fluid from the bag of fluid around your baby to see if your baby is making surfactant. Based on the test results, your provider may prescribe medicine that will help your baby start making more surfactant before birth. If your baby is born early suddenly, healthcare providers can sometimes place 1 or more doses of artificial surfactant directly into your baby's lungs to help reduce the chance that RDS will develop.