Lung development in a fetus starts during the embryonic phase, at around four weeks of gestational age. Very early in development, what will eventually be a baby is nothing more than a cell ball, where none of the cells are yet specialized. An...
Bronchopulmonary dysplasia is a chronic lung disease that appears in premature infants, who have received high levels of oxygen, shortly after birth. These infants are usually born with a lack of surfactant, which predisposes the lungs to...
Newborn babies are at risk for a variety of lung and respiratory illnesses. The risk level greatly increases if the baby is born prematurely, even by just a few weeks. Full-term newborns also have risks, however, and prevention of lung problems is...
Although your baby's lower respiratory system started forming shortly after its heart began to beat, the lungs are among the last organs to fully mature before birth. Most newborns come into the world ready to breathe on their own, but some don't,...
Most discussions of heart disease risk, sooner or later, include the mention of an infamous waxy substance called cholesterol. In spite of its bad reputation, cholesterol plays many roles, making it just as essential to your health as...
Phosphatidylcholine is a ubiquitous, naturally occurring phospholipid molecule. It is the major lipid, or fat, of cell membranes and blood proteins. Also known as PC, phosphatidylcholine serves as the body's main source of choline, an essential...
The lungs are made up of a number of tissue types that facilitate inspiration, the transfer of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the air and the bloodstream, and expiration of carbon dioxide. Lungs connect to the windpipe, or trachea, by a number...
"Cerebral" refers to the brain and "palsy" indicates paralysis, defining cerebral palsy as damage to an infant's delicate neurological system. The March of Dimes reports 12.8 percent of births in the United States are premature, occurring prior to...
According to Kids Health, a baby is considered premature if it is born before 37 weeks gestation. Your preemie may be facing health issues related to her early arrival. Premature babies are not physically ready to survive on their own and often...
Premature infants are babies born after 37 weeks or less of a woman's pregnancy. Being born prematurely significantly raises a newborn's risks for a number of serious breathing ailments related to incomplete brain development, muscle weakness or...
According to the American Pregnancy Association, babies born before the 37th week of gestation are considered premature. Contributing factors to premature birth include maternal heart disease, diabetes, infection, incompetent cervix, preeclampsia,...
Rapid breathing, often described as panting, is quite common in newborns. When no other symptoms are present--and rapid breathing comes and goes and the baby appears otherwise healthy and comfortable--there's usually no cause for concern. However,...
The respiratory process is a complex system of breathing in and out: bringing in oxygen and eliminating carbon dioxide from the body. An infant takes in air through the mouth and nose, which then enters one of two lungs. Each lung is filled with...
Pregnancy is a rapid growth process inside the womb. Not only is your own body working hard to support your growing pregnancy, but your baby is also growing from two cells to a full-term baby in an average of 40 weeks. Fetal development is...
A baby needs a fully developed set of lungs in order to breathe well on her own and to provide enough oxygen for her body's tissues. A premature baby's lungs may be underdeveloped, causing difficulty with breathing and putting the baby at risk of...
Oxygen therapy is commonly used to treat a variety of medical conditions including heart attack, emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, and other hypoxic conditions where the cells are deprived of oxygenation for various...
A baby who is struggling for breath shortly after birth may present with persistent blue color around the mouth and nose, flaring nostrils, grunting noises and chest retractions, clear signs of labored breathing. Rapid, shallow respirations and...
Radiation treatment is the use of high-powered radiation to kill cancer cells or stop them from growing and spreading. Lung radiation treatment is used to treat lung cancers and lung metastases, or cancers that spread to the lungs from other...
While it seems like the "home stretch" of pregnancy would be a good time to rest up for the big day and relax, the last trimester can be a time of many potential complications. While most pregnancies progress towards delivery without a hitch,...
Premature or preterm infants are babies born 37 weeks or less after pregnancy begins. Being born prematurely can expose a newborn to several common health problems caused by inadequate development of major organ systems. In addition to treating...
As a child with cystic fibrosis (CF) ages, complications from this chronic disease continue to develop. Respiratory infections can become increasingly hard to treat as different types of bacteria infect the lungs. Teenagers with the disease begin...
Premature infants are those born before 37 weeks of gestation. These babies encounter a host of medical and developmental problems, but often survive, unlike premature infants in the past. The earlier a premature infant is born, the more health...
Radiation therapy for lung cancer, breast cancer and other types of cancer that may involve the chest can impact the lungs. The damage to the lungs depends on the area of lung that was involved in the radiation and the amount of radiation used in...
Being a new parent can be scary when bringing home a fragile newborn. Breathing patterns of newborns are new and unfamiliar to parents. Babies breathe much differently from adults. Faster breathing and unusual noises can be frightening....
Pregnancy is an exciting time for a new mother. It is natural to wonder how your baby is growing and developing as your body is drastically changing. A baby's growth during pregnancy follows a predictable course from fertilization, to the forming...
The lungs are the organs responsible for gas exchange. Humans require oxygen for cellular respiration, and they produce carbon dioxide as a waste product. The lungs are composed of a number of multiple levels of branching airways, called bronchi....
The majority of babies born are delivered between 37 and 40 weeks gestation, and are considered term. A few babies are born preterm, earlier than 37 weeks. The youngest of these are the babies born at 23 weeks gestation. The baby delivered this...
Meconium is dark greenish-black material present in the intestines of all newborns. A fetus, in response to stress during the birthing process, might expel the material into the surrounding amniotic fluid and breathe meconium into the lungs. The...
O2, or oxygen gas, plays an important role in your health. Cellular respiration -- the process through which your cells produce useable fuel -- relies on a constant supply of oxygen to take place, and a lack of oxygen prevents your cells from...
