Did you know that there’s a valve in fetal hearts that diverts blood away from the lungs while in utero. It begins closing at the first breath as the baby gets oxygen from it’s own lungs for the first time.
The most profound change at birth is your baby’s first breath. At this point, your baby’s lungs, which were filled with fluid during pregnancy, must suddenly fill with oxygen from the air. The fluid in the lungs is removed through the blood and lymph system, and is replaced by air. Your baby’s lungs must be able to exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide. At the same time, vigorous blood circulation in the lungs will begin. The first few breaths after birth may be the most difficult breaths your baby will take for the rest of her life.
There are a couple of things that will stimulate your baby to take her first breath. Hormonal and other changes during labour slow down or stop the production of fluid in the lungs, and may initiate the reabsorption of fluid from the lungs. This process is unlikely to have occurred if labour was very short or did not occur at all, for example, if your baby was delivered by caesarean section. Furthermore, physical stimulation and handling during delivery will encourage your baby to breathe. There are probably many other factors that stimulate baby’s first breath, but they have not been identified yet.
There's a valve in fetal hearts that diverts blood away from the lungs while in utero. It begins closing at the first breath as the baby gets oxygen from it's own lungs for the first time
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