A diaphragmatic hernia can occur in a newborn baby as a birth defect. It means, essentially, there is a hole in the breathing mechanism known as the diaphragm. The hole or hernia allows other organs in the baby's abdominal area from rising toward the lungs in the chest cavity. These organs include the intestines, liver, spleen and stomach. This is a severe condition that will require surgery to repair the hole and adjust the other organs, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Breathing Problems
Not long after the baby has been delivered, he may show signs of breathing problems, such as struggling to breathe. The National Institutes of Health states this occurs because the diaphragm is not working properly and that the organs that push up through it "crowd" the tissue of the lungs. A collapse of the lungs can occur because of this.
Cyanosis
Another symptom of a diaphragmatic hernia is a blue tint over the baby's entire body. This is called cyanosis and is caused by a lack of air reaching the various parts of her body. Her body is starved for oxygen and this leads to the lack of normal tone and color of the integumentary or skin system. Normally, oxygenated blood has a bright red color. When there is a lack of or decrease in the oxygen in the blood, this color drops to a reddish-blue.
Tachypnea
Tachypnea is the medical term for breathing rapidly. Because the lungs have the pressure of other organs pressing in on them through the hernia in the diaphragm, normal breathing is not possible. The baby's body is trying to fight to get enough oxygen to live. The National Institutes of Health states that while babies breathe faster than adults normally---as high as 44 breaths in a minute compared to eight to 16 in the same period for adults---tachypnea occurs when the baby breathes more rapidly than that.
Tachycardia
Tachycardia is the name of the condition in which the rate at which the heart beats is accelerated. The normal heart rate for a newborn can range from 100 to 160 beats per minute, meaning that a heart rate faster than 160 beats per minute is tachycardia, the American Heart Association reports.
