Cord around baby's neck at birth

Cord around the neck can be very serious.
How about a hare lip? Looks terrible, but is easily fixed these days

Jaundice is fairly common, and treatable, but the yellowed skin tone can freak someone out if they've never seen it before.

A breech birth would give that effect and they would rush the child in to check for stuff but generally it works out fine. But it's hard to watch for the squeamish. There was a reality show called "Untold Stories of the ER" that did a really good job of what the situation looks like. You might see if you can Google the show and that episode.

ETA: It's Season 2, Episode 12, entitled "Nothing's Working". Haven't found it yet online but I'm sure it's out there somewhere.

gracemichael said:

My initial thought is the cord being wrapped around the baby's neck. I have done a little bit of research on it and sometimes that can make the baby very 'red' at birth. Could it also make him take on a bluish tint?

Any other ideas?

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My oldest had the cord wrapped around his neck at birth. He was blue when he came out and was immediately taken away from me. Luckily, he was fine and was returned to me later once they'd warmed him up.

With the second one, the cord wrapped around his forehead and he looked like an alien when he was born (think 'Cone head, (sp)'the film)

I need a situation where a relative would be scared for the health of a baby immediately upon looking at him at birth. It needs to be something that has no lasting effects.

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Sometimes babies need help breathing when they are born - mucus blocks their tubes. It's easily 'fixed' but can be quite frightening at the time.

Weird! I was talking to my bro this morning and discussing that he was born with the cord round his neck and had blue asphyxia as a result. He was put in an oxygen tent right away and was soon a pink instead of a blue babe. He does not remember the event, and I wasn't born, but we do remember our mother telling us.

If the babes face is very badly creased from the birth process s/he could look like a Downs Syndrome babe.

My daughter had to be born C-section because of cord compression. In other words, the cord was being mashed whenever I had a contraction. She came out beautifully, no "pointy head" from being squashed through the birth canal.

It depends how quickly you want the situation resolved. A cord wrapped around the neck is, as I understand it, an emergency that will pretty quickly turn either fine or tragic.

Severe jaundice might take a little longer to resolve. I know that babies born with antibody reactions (like Rh+ blood in an Rh- mother) can be born with jaundice and require transfusion, although with good prenatal care it is less likely to be a surprise if there's a problem.

Meconium in the amniotic fluid can indicate a potential problem if the baby inhales it, leading to pneumonia or other infection. It wouldn't be so scary at first glance, but if the person is informed they might know it indicated a potential problem that could get very serious before it gets better.

Good luck!

Shoulder dystocia, although that would be a very difficult birth.
Meconium.
Cord around the neck or you could just have baby as being floppy when born which can happen often.

I worked for twelve years on a labour ward, so if you need any help I will try to answer your questions x

Talipes. One of my girls had it, and it looked pretty odd but was easily rectified. If I'd known talipes was the same as club foot I probably would have freaked.

During my mother's labor with me, the cord got wrapped around my birth and the nurse reached up inside, managed to get it unwound but that was decades ago.

Today, at the first hint of fetal distress, they normally do a C-section - they did on my daughter who had her head bascially jammed and caught so that she could not advance down the birth canal.

My brother was born with the cord round his neck and they just cut it - straight away, before tying it off. The blood hit the ceiling - my Dad nearly passed out! But my brother was fine as it was resolved so quickly.

waylander said:

Cord around the neck can be very serious.
How about a hare lip? Looks terrible, but is easily fixed these days

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I was going to suggest ABS (Amniotic Band Syndrome) which is often the cause of cleft pallet. (My daughter was born with ABS - she is missing her left hand. Her friend also born with ABS was born missing her right ear.) I don't consider lasting effects on my daughter - aside from having to learn to do things a bit differently.

My main reason for suggesting this was that (after a horrible end to my pregnancy which included hospitalized bed rest) as soon as she was born we were worried that perhaps something more than just her hand was wrong. But we were lucky in that it's her only "problem".

Size/birth weight could also be a problem, although if premature may be expected. Or what about lots of hair? (on the head) ;-)