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post #1 of 6
Thread Starter 
My nephew was born at 30 weeks, and he has been in the NICU for about a week. He's been on room air the entire time, and had his IV removed yesterday - he is doing very well.

However, he's started having decels - he had 4 in about a 2 hour period today, one while she was holding him. (Some are just an issue with the leads, but some are definitely his heart.) My sister is a little freaked out about it, and doesn't want to leave his side. They are planning to ask the dr about it, the nurses weren't very forthcoming - either they say, "It's very common with preemies" or "We're keeping an eye on it."

Can anybody give me a little more info on suddenly dropping heartrate in preemies?
post #2 of 6
I'm sorry, I'm a bit confused. Do you mean desats that happen when the oxygen level in his blood gets low or bradys where his heart slows down?

Either way, they're both common with premmies and the doctors probably are keeping an eye on it. From what we were told they think brady's happen because the portion of the brain that controls the heart isn't formed enough. Where as desats happen because the babies lungs aren't mature enough.
post #3 of 6
Both are common in preemies. They are troubling, but common.
post #4 of 6
The reason they're saying that is because bradycardia (slow of the heart) is extremely common in preemies due to their little bodies not being ready for life outside of the womb. It's something they outgrow around term and isn't something to be concerned about which is a lot easier said than done. That's the reason they keep preemies on monitors is to know when something like a decel happens so they can give stimulation if needed to get their heart to speed up again.
post #5 of 6
As others have stated this is extremely common with preemies. In fact I can still remember all the different sounds from the NICU from all of the monitors. We were roomed with 2 other preemies so there was never a quiet moment. It took my little guy about 4 weeks to overcome the A's & B's (apnea and bradycardia) which tends to actually go together. They stop breathing and then their heart rate plummets - or vice versa. My guy also tended to have both more often when he had issues with acid reflux (another very common preemie ailment).

At the hospital we were in he had to have no episodes of either for a week before he could be sent home. The docs and nurses will keep on eye on both to be aware in case any intervention is needed.
post #6 of 6
Thread Starter 
Originally Posted by Le Bec View Post
Heart slowing down - his O2 saturation levels have stayed fine to my knowledge. Not sure if it is with apnea or not.

Thanks everyone who answered, that little bit more explanation helps a lot.
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