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As the umbilical vessels are obliterated and the infant starts breathing at birth, the source of oxygen changes from the placenta to the lungs. This major trigger will facilitate the transformation from fetal to postnatal circulation in many ways. First, the ductus venosus was previously kept open by the blood flow from the umbilical vein.
Persistent fetal circulation is a condition caused by a failure in the systemic circulation and pulmonary circulation to convert from the antenatal circulation pattern to the "normal" pattern. Infants experience a high mean arterial pulmonary artery pressure and a high afterload at the right ventricle.
A catheter may be inserted into one of the umbilical arteries of critically ill babies for drawing blood for testing. [6] This is a common procedure in neonatal intensive care, and can often be performed until 2 weeks after birth (when the arteries start to decay too much). [7]
Ductus arteriosus evolved with the lung in the ancestors of the lungfish as a connection between the pulmonary arteries and dorsal aorta. During embryonic development, reptiles, birds, and mammals all have either one or two paired ductus arteriosi that provide a fetal shunt of blood away from the lungs.
In fetal life, the high pressure in the pulmonic artery and the fetal shunts enable oxygen-rich blood to flow in the LCA. By the time of birth, the pressure will decrease in the pulmonic artery and the child will have a postnatal circulation.
The unpaired umbilical vein carries oxygen and nutrient rich blood derived from fetal-maternal blood exchange at the chorionic villi.More than two-thirds of fetal hepatic circulation is via the main portal vein, while the remainder is shunted from the left portal vein via the ductus venosus to the inferior vena cava, eventually being delivered to the fetal right atrium.
If given expert postnatal care, some preterm babies weighing less than 500 g (1 lb 2 oz) may survive, and are referred to as extremely low birth weight or immature infants. [21] Preterm birth is the most common cause of infant mortality, causing almost 30 percent of neonatal deaths. [22]
Fetal hemoglobin, or foetal haemoglobin (also hemoglobin F, HbF, or α 2 γ 2) is the main oxygen carrier protein in the human fetus.Hemoglobin F is found in fetal red blood cells, and is involved in transporting oxygen from the mother's bloodstream to organs and tissues in the fetus.