Heartbeat very high for new born baby...

Question

my sister had a baby today morning 21 days before expected date. Doctors say baby is of normal weight but heart beat is too high and so cannot be breast fed and so now on drips and Oxygen tube. Can someone help me to understand the situation better please ?

Answer 1

infants lungs while in utero are normally developed by 7 months.

Answer 2

Accelerated heart rate could mean that she's working really hard to breath ( heart beating faster to get oxygenated blood to the body). This makes sense in a premature baby as their lungs are under developed.There can be lots of reasons for a rapid heart beat but I think this may be the issue with your little baby.

Good luck and congrats to your family!

Answer 3

not without more info other than to say that probably the drips are to slow his heart rate, oxygen is to help him out so he doesn't have to work so hard (lack of enough can cause heart rate to increase in an effort to increase oxygen supply to tissues); if he has serious enough probs that he's on all this, that is probably why they won't let her breastfeed; they need to monitor him and be able to intervene anytime it's necessary...perhaps she could pump and have them give that to him in his unit....? worth it to ask anyway...good luck

Answer 4

What does an elevated heart rate have to do with breastfeeding?  Gah- the doctor gave her bad advice.  And that is yet another mother that wanted to breastfeed, was misled by medical professionals, and will feel guilty for no reason.  Tell her to speak with a board certified lactation consultant about it, please.