Whats the Underlying Problem When Babys Skin is Blue?
There are two reasons why the blood under the skin might look blue: • The baby’s lungs are not getting enough oxygen. Since oxygen is what makes blood turn red, blood cells without oxygen remain blue (“cyanosis”). • The underlying blood is moving sluggishly, so the normal veins underneath that carry blue, oxygen-poor blood back to the heart are more noticeable. You can tell if there is insufficient oxygen in the blood by checking the color of the skin all over your baby’s body. If there is a bluish cast everywhere (especially in areas with a lot of blood flow, like the lips, tongue, and vagina or scrotum), this could mean all of the blood is blue and there could be a problem with the heart or lungs. More commonly, it’s only certain areas — like the hands, feet, or area around the mouth — that look blue some of the time. This is usually perfectly normal and just reflects the baby’s somewhat immature circulation.
