Week 34, Day 1, Bradycardia

Carla had a good session with Hannah today, but just after Hannah was put back in her bed, she had a "brady" episode. Not the kind with horrible 70s clothing and astroturf lawns, but the type that happens when a baby forgets to breathe (apnea) long enough to cause the heart rate to drop (bradycardia). It's very common in preemies, and is one of the reasons Hannah is hooked up to monitors that start to squawk if her blood oxygen or heart rate drop too low. In this case, the nurses hurried over and gave Hannah some extra oxygen, and she snapped right back to normal and was breathing fine when Carla left.

It scared Carla to tears, of course. Reading up on it afterward, the only thing particularly surprising was that she hasn't had a brady episode before today. 80% of babies born before 30 weeks gestation (Hannah was 24.5) have apnea and bradycardia, and it almost always goes away on its own. There's a slight chance that it is a sign of a more serious problem like NEC or reflux, but most likely it will be a non-issue by the time Hannah is full-term (in about a month).

Here's a picture I took last night when I visited. The camera settings were messed up at the time, so it's sorta dark and grainy. But a good view of her perfect little face nonetheless. The clear tube is the nasal cannula, and the tube in her mouth is the feeding tube.