If your baby does not establish their breathing within a minute or so after the birth, your caregiver will need to assist your baby to breathe. This can be done with mouth to mouth
resuscitation (if no equipment is available), but will usually be performed with a device called a 'ventilation bag and mask'.
A 'bag and mask' is hand held with an oxygen supply attached and a small facemask that is placed over the baby's nose and mouth (to create an airtight seal). The caregiver then compresses the bag attachment to deliver a controlled amount of mixed air and oxygen to artificially inflate (or 'ventilate') the baby's lungs. The medical term for this is 'Intermittent Positive Pressure Ventilation', written as 'IPPV'.
When using this intervention the caregiver will usually cut the cord and take the baby to the resuscitation table in the room. In most the ventilation is just a temporary intervention, with the baby usually responding after just a few ventilations.
Occasionally it can be due to the baby being genuinely unwell. In this case the caregiver may need to continue the ventilation until the baby is transferred to the Intensive Care Nursery and be possibly attached to a ventilator machine.
Some reasons for the baby needing a short period of ventilation can be:
A rapid birth
Cord around the neck
Fetal distress
Being floppy
Unknown
A rapid birth. Some babies can appear a little 'stunned' when they arrive in a hurry. If it is a vaginal birth, descending the birth canal very rapidly through a short pushing phase or a
ventouse or
forceps birth, can mean that the baby will take about 2 to 3 minutes to breathe and respond, rather than 30 seconds to a minute. You can read more on this in
fast labour and birth.
Cord around the neck. It is normal for the umbilical cord to be loosely around the baby's neck at birth. This happens about 25% of the time.