Dark greenish material that builds up in the baby's digestive system before birth. It usually starts being passed as bowel movements within 24 hours of birth.
A baby who becomes distressed before delivery may pass meconium (the dark greenish material described above) while he or she is still in the womb. If the baby then inhales the fluid in which he or she is 'floating', the sticky material partially blocks the airways, causing breathing difficulties around the time that the baby is born.
This drug is used to reduce the discomfort and stress that babies may experience from some of the necessary treatments being given. It can reduce their own breathing, and so is usually reduced or stopped when a baby is taken off a ventilator. If a baby has needed it for quite a long time, they may become jittery when it is stopped, due to the effects of drug withdrawal.
An increasing number of neonatal units have access to MRI scanners. These can give very useful computer-generated pictures of the organs inside a baby without harming him or her. If your baby has an MRI scan, he or she will be placed in a special incubator that keeps him or her safe and warm while inside the scanner. MRI images are extremely useful for assessing the extent of any brain damage and give useful information on the way that the brain is maturing. In most hospitals, the MRI unit is a distance from the neonatal unit, so the baby may need to be in a stable condition for this investigation to be possible.
