Many parents count their blessings toward the end of a healthy, full-term pregnancy.
Their baby has been able to develop fully and will soon make his or her long-awaited debut. However, in a small percentage of births, these seemingly healthy infants will soon be fighting for their lives or battling chronic lung disease. In 10 percent to 20 percent of all births in the United States, the fetus discharges meconium, a dark greenish material that normally accumulates in the bowel during development, into the amniotic fluid before birth. The meconium may create a pneumonia with inflammation that deactivates the lung's surfactant, which is a foamy fluid needed for expansion of the air sacs in the lungs. Unlike premature infants who are lacking surfactant, these bigger babies have normal amounts, but now because they inhaled the meconium, the surfactant has been damaged and their lungs cannot work properly.