Hi,
Meconium aspiration may occur when your baby experiences stress. Stress often results when the amount of
oxygen available to the fetus is reduced. Common causes of fetal stress include:
1. A
pregnancy that goes past the due date (more than 40 weeks) difficult or long labor.
2. Certain health issues experienced by the mother, including
hypertension (
high blood pressure) or
diabetes or an infection.
The fetus doesn’t begin to produce meconium until later in pregnancy, so as a pregnancy goes past its due date, the fetus has the potential to be exposed to meconium for a longer period of time.
As pregnancy progresses to term and beyond, the amount of
amniotic fluid is also decreased, which concentrates the meconium. As a result, MAS is more common in overdue newborns as compared to term newborns.
I will suggest you should try for your next conception. There is no waiting period. Make sure that the pregnancy does not go beyond 40 weeks or if everything remains normal, go for a c-section around 36-38 weeks.
You should understand that meconium aspiration by the baby was an accident and you should move ahead with a positive frame of mind.
Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.
Regards,
Dr. Prabhash Verma,
General & Family Physician