Inside the uterus, the foetus is in a warm protected environment. When it is brought out, the child experiences a total change in the environment. The outside temperature and air stimulates the skin. This stimulation makes the child take a deep breath. Thus, the air gets into the lungs and it results in a cry.
This cry is one of the five parameters (Apgar count) to assess the child’s condition soon after birth. This is done at one minute and five minute after birth. In a normal child, the first cry is a vigorous or lustrous one.
The cry is a good indicator of various disorders in the newborn babies.
The irritable cry may be due to brain injury.
The feeble cry may indicate:
- A respiratory problem (asphyxia etc.)
- A brain problem (intracranial bleeding etc.)
- Immaturity of the lungs in a low birth weight baby (pre-maturity).
- Aspiration of fluid from the amnion (a bag of membranes which encircles the child). The aspiration contents may be the meconium (the first dark motion passed by the child).
