Midwifery and Womens Health

PERINATAL ASPHYXIA

Perinatal asphyxia is the medical condition resulting from the deprivation of oxygen in a newborn baby that lasts long enough throughout the birth process to cause physical damage, sometimes to the brain.

• CAUSES: prenatal causes

• Inadequate oxygenation of maternal blood due to hypoventilation throughout anesthesia, heart disease, pneumonia, metastatic failure

• Low maternal pressure due to cardiovascular disease e.g. compression of the vein and arteries, excess anesthesia.

• Premature separation of the placenta

• Placental insufficiency

• Intrapartum causes

• Insufficient relaxation of the uterus due to excess oxytocin

• extended delivery

• Tying the fetal membrane around the child's neck.