apnea/bradycardia?

starburst210

hi girls..

i read all the literature on this ...madison had her first episode of this yesterday at noon.  why the nurse didn't tell me when i showed up at 1230 is beyond me.  i found out via the cute emails they send out daily in the morning....

this is her first one.  i now know what it is via the pamphlets but can you just tell me in preemie/mommy terms what it is instead of medical terms...

it's worrying me.   and if it's common and something i should not be overly concerned about please ease my mind.  

thx! 

adrielegorburu

Apnea and Bradycardia are two seperate things - I always was told about A's B's and D's. Apnea is when the baby's breathing rate drops or stops, bradycardia is when the heartrate drops or stops and D"s are Desat's (desaturation) is when the baby's oxygen levels drop.  all are common - all have a million reasons why it happens.   If you dont understand why it happened to your LO or if you should be concerned about it you really need to talk to the nurses and Neo's at your NICU - they can explain in plain language and set your mind at ease - for some babies its very normal and in others it can signal something more serious.  My little girl had all three on a regular basis but she was 22w5d....

katie4253

We had lots of As and Bs with Gabe (31 weeker), but rarely D's.  If they would have told me every time he had an A (but especially , I would have constantly been getting calls.  He was on caffeine for B's until he came home.  I ultimately just started asking them how many spells he had each day. 

They got less and less as he got older.  However, they never went away in the NICU, so he came home on a monitor.  The severity can vary wildly, so talk to the neos about it for sure.  My guy never had to be stimulated out of them.  But, some babies do.  Some even have to be bagged.  So, it really just depends on your LO.  

His As and Bs finally stopped around 43 weeks GA.

saywhut82

A's, B's, and D's are common with preemies just because their lungs and hearts are not fully developed. Personally, I was always concerned when my LO would brady or appy, but I had faith in her NICU nurses and docs which put my worried mind at ease. 

I would speak with the head nurse or the shift nurse in reference to the NICU policies for updates. I never got a call about what happened with my LO unless they had to perform a surgery or a life/death situation occurred while I was gone.  Other than that, I was told everything everytime I came to see her. If you ask them to give you daily updates when you arrive, then they can place that request in your LO's notes./charts so the nurses on duty will know to give you an update as soon as you come to the NICU. It will also give you an opportunity to ask questions and get first hand updates on her daily progress.  

DrRx

Apnea and Bradys can be pretty relative.  Adalyn has them, at least a mild brady and desat (from which she recovers on her own) while she eats (since she has a pretty aggressive suck), and only occasionally has a brady while she is sleeping (probably due to reflux), which is why we are home on an apnea/brady monitor at home.  She takes caffeine for it, and eventually will outgrow it.  She is definitely doing better as time goes on. 

However, several moms need to have a consecutive period of time (usually 5 days) where there are no bradys before they are discharged.  It all depends on when your LO was born and other diagnoses, as well as whether or not you will be discharged with monitors.  I would ask your neo and/or nurse what the goal is for your LO.

Mrs. Alice

katie4253:

We had lots of As and Bs with Gabe (31 weeker), but rarely D's.  If they would have told me every time he had an A (but especially , I would have constantly been getting calls.  He was on caffeine for B's until he came home.  I ultimately just started asking them how many spells he had each day. 

They got less and less as he got older.  However, they never went away in the NICU, so he came home on a monitor.  The severity can vary wildly, so talk to the neos about it for sure.  My guy never had to be stimulated out of them.  But, some babies do.  Some even have to be bagged.  So, it really just depends on your LO.  

His As and Bs finally stopped around 43 weeks GA.

Yes, this for us too.  My guys were still setting the alarms off like crazy at 34 weeks.  The majority of the time they self recovered (meaning the nurse didn't have to go stimulate them or intervene).  This earned them apnea monitors at discharge.

jcsntms06

My youngest dd had only a few A's her first day of life which is why she stayed so long in NICU. Then the B's started. She was finally released from NICU at 36w 5d. And since leaving she hasnt had anymore issues. They say babies out grow them. 

amoussea

Do not panic. I'm currently a mother of a NICU baby, and I know how terrifying and confusing this can be. Apneas and Brady's are very common in premature babies. It is expected that they will have these episodes, and as it has even explained to me, it's an immaturity thing. They will grow out of them. The nurses have explained to me that even full term babies at home have these, but you'd never know because they aren't hooked up to a monitor!

 

My baby was born at 31 weeks and she had a ton. At first she needed stimulation to come back up in her stats but eventually she was bringing herself back up. Now she is almost 40 weeks (gestational age) and she doesn't have any.  

 

Hope things are going well for you!