Asphyxia may occur when the fetus is positioned abnormally in the birth canal so his backside or leg is born first, or when the second-born of twins suffers a decreased oxygen supply for an especially long time. Sometimes the mother may have a condition such as high blood pressure, which may affect the fetal blood supply. Maternal smoking is also associated with this condition. The result is that the new-born is not able to start up the lungs without help. It takes coordinated effort on the part of the health care team to see that such babies are born fairly rapidly and that their lungs are activated.
Fetal monitoring gives the team information about the existence of fetal asphyxia.
Emergency resuscitation procedures are carried out. Choanal Atresia Infants can breathe only through the nose for the first few months. When an infant is born with choanal atresia a bony obstruction in the nasal passage respiration can be difficult and the obstruction must be surgically removed. Stridor Stridor is a medium-pitched, almost musical sound originating primarily in the larynx or trachea and produced by some babies when they inhale. When it is congenital, the condition usually improves and disappears with age, but can take as long as a year.