Born Baby Looks Blue? Beware Of Congenital Heart Disease

Illustration of newborns (Pexels/Fotos)

JAKARTA - The condition of the newborn baby's body needs special attention. Especially when the baby looks blue, be aware of congenital heart disease.

Toraks and Cardiovascular Surgeon Specialist at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM) Suprayitno Wardoyo said, in general there are two categories of congenital heart disorders in children, namely blue and not blue.

In the blue category, he said, is a congenital heart disorder due to oxygen levels circulating in the child's body less than normal or saturation below 90 percent.

"Well, this blue complaint is usually immediately known since the patient or the child was born. So, usually it looks blue on the lips and also on the tips of the fingers," he said, as quoted by Antara.

He said there were several diagnosiss of congenital heart disorders of blue type. First, because of narrowing of blood flow, which from the right ventilator should go to the lung blood vessels to get oxygen. Due to narrowing, he said, the number is decreasing and more flowed to the systemic or large blood circulation.

"And the second is that there is no narrowing, but the blood flow physiological is parallel," he said.

He explained that parallel blood flow causes the systemic system to get less oxygenated blood flow, because the flow does not flow to the lung vessels but directly to the system.

Complaints about the blue color in children vary, he said, there are mild to severe ones. In the mild the child is not too blue, but it can become bluer when the child cries or mends.

"But there are also children who are born very blue. And the heavier the degree, of course, the risk of something more fatal," he said.

He reminded that if the handling is postponed, it can endanger children, because other organs can be affected by this oxygen distribution problem. A number of problems that can arise such as decreased consciousness, seizures, or decreased heart strength to pump.

Regarding prevention, Suprayitno said there was no definite cause for congenital heart disorders, but risk factors could be avoided, for example infection during the mother's pregnancy, especially in the first three months.

In addition, he continued, the mother's consumption of drugs and alcohol can cause disturbances in the formation of her child's heart.

Currently, in Indonesia early detection of heart disorders when the fetus is still in the womb can be done, but actions or interventions cannot be carried out, such as those abroad.