Lung Syndrome

During the late 1950s two doctors named Dr.Mary Ellen Avery and the other Dr.Jere Mead were working at harvard at the time,they demonstrated that surfactant was lacking in the lungs of premature babies which is needed to help fill the lungs with air .without it the alveoli will fail leading to a risk of inflammation of the lungs usually with complicators leaving gas build up in the space surrounding the lungs(pneumothorax),the space between the lungs (pneumomediastinum) and the area between the heart and the thin sac that surrounds the heart. It wasn't till the 1960s and 1970s that neonatal intensive care unit beds became filled with some survivors.although many still died or developed further diseases there are fewer than
200,000 U.S cases per year leaving many families devastated due to this syndrome that leaves their newborn infants with rapid shallow breathing or the worst case scenario death. This respiratory syndrome develops usually after 24 hours after birth in premature infants born 6 weeks or more before their due dates usually because of the reason that their lungs have not yet fully developed.
According to the national heart,lung,and blood institute, in 2003, approximately 40,000 infants and 150,000 adults were reported with RDS meaning about one person out of 6,800 has RDS. It is very important to be careful with this syndrome because if an infant or breathing machine tried to apply some pressure to the lungs there is a high chance of it to rupture causing air to leak making the lung collapse sinking in even farther which turns it into a more severe case, usually this can be seen with the help of a chest x ray
. Usually if a baby is born with this syndrome and isn't treated as needed having a lack in oxygen supply will damage the infant's body eventually causing them to stop functioning all together. So preferably the parents should keep a close eye on their newborn's breathing closely in the first week and look for any signs of distress or rapid breathing,nostrils flaring, grunts between each breath and so on. There are many different ways to prevent your infant from getting this ahead of time for example good parental care by getting regular checkups beginning as soon as a woman acknowledged she is pregnant can help prevent premature birth by stopping bad habits such as drug use such as smoking or alcohol ,taking prenatal vitamins eating well, not holding in urine,avoiding stress and so on.even anything such as age can as well determine a chance for the baby to be premature so it's best to understand how it's not only affecting you but a unborn child's life as well as yours and your spouse. Another way to prevent your infant from being born unhealthy is by getting a lab test done before delivering to check the readiness of the baby's lungs, also there are medicines called corticosteroids that can help speed up the baby's lung development before the baby is born they are often given to pregnant women who are between 24 and 34 weeks of pregnancy; but at times it may be possible to give another type of medicine to delay labor and delivery until the steroid medicine has time to work so that the baby can come out with fully developed lungs and not end up being born with all these different problems and can live a healthy normal life but keep in mind there are some more intresting factors that can influence this disease such as:
● White or male babies
● Perinatal infection
● Cesarean delivery
● Multiple Births
● Mothers who have diabetes
● Babies with patent ductus arteriosus
● Cold stress
● Perinatal asphyxia

As well as many of the other conditions and side effects of this syndrome there are quite more dangerous routes associated of babies with RDS of extreme prematurity such as symptoms of bleeding to the brain, bleeding into the lung, problems with lung development and growth,intellectual disability associated with brain damage or bleeding and lastly eye development also known as (retinopathy of prematurity) and blindness.
On the bright side humanity has made a manufactured surfactant that is usually given to newborns with RDS as soon as possible within the first six hours after birth. The manufactured surfactant is a white powder that is mixed with sterile water and given through a feeding tube that is inserted inthe babys lungs usually in multiple doses. This type of therapy continues until the infant's lungs are fully developed and is able to produce surfactant on its own. This therapy has reduced deaths from respiratory distress by 50% since the early 1990s it's usually expensive but usually can be covered by insurance. With this syndrome there are a few exams or tests you can do such as :
● Blood gas analysis- measures acidity (ph) and the levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood from a
artery.
● Chest xray- a fast painless that uses electromagnetic waves to create pictures of the structures of the chest.
● Listen- to a baby's cry and listen for anything unusual
● Weigh-weigh the baby and plot its growth and check for growth.
● Examine the baby's body for any unusual deformities And lastly Lab tests- usually part of a routine check up to look for changes in your health. Usually once the baby contracts this syndrome the condition usually gets worse before getting better so usually 2-4 days after birth well that is unless it's a infant with it more severe but as i said luckily now we have that manufactured surfactant that is usually now given so incase the child does develop this sickness. On the other hand there are also some long term effects such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) which is a chronic lung disease of infancy first found in 1967 mostly common with low birth weight and those who prolonged mechanical ventilation to treat so it makes since because since if the sickness doesn't go away you do need a ventilator till one month of age even since they use it still once they are out of the hospital so obviously is due to that since it's not really 100% them since they are dependent on the ventilator.
So overall i believe if your gonna make the decision to have a child you should be aware of what can happen to you and your child's like so to always take care of not only the baby but yourself because the mother also plays a role on how healthy the baby comes out to be.