During pregnancy, the intestines grow correctly at first, but then do not go back inside the belly as they usually do. Gastroschisis is more common now than it has been in previous decades, but doctors don't know why.
A pregnant woman doesn't have any symptoms during pregnancy when her baby has gastroschisis. But doctors might find gastroschisis before the baby is born when the mother has a:.
If the mother did not have prenatal tests , the doctor will diagnose gastroschisis at birth because part of the intestine is outside the baby's body. When a baby is diagnosed with gastroschisis, the parents and care team make a plan with several steps:. A baby with gastroschisis is fed through an intravenous IV line because the intestine:.
Often, the intestines don't fit in the belly because they're swollen. If so, the surgeon usually arranges the intestines in a bag called a silo to:. The care team gradually tightens the silo as the intestines return to normal size. Putting the intestines back into the belly with a silo usually takes about 3—4 days, but may take longer.
The intestines of a child with gastroschisis may not work well even after they're returned to the belly. So moving a baby from IV feeding to feeding by mouth can take a long time. It may be a month or longer before the intestines can absorb nutrients well enough to support the baby without help from the IV. A baby whose healthy small intestine is much shorter than usual can have a rare condition called short gut syndrome or short bowel syndrome.
This means the baby can't absorb enough nutrition from digested food to grow and thrive. This can happen if:. The medical challenges of gastroschisis can be stressful for your child and you. As a matter of courtesy we request that the content provider Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities be credited and notified in any public or private usage of this image.
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You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link. CDC is not responsible for Section compliance accessibility on other federal or private website. Birth defects are structural changes present at birth that affect almost any part of the body. They may affect how the body looks, works or both. Birth defects can cause problems in overall health, how the body develops or how the body works. About 1, babies are born with gastroschisis each year in the United States.
Several studies show that gastroschisis has become more common in recent years. Gastroschisis is a type of abdominal wall defect. These conditions develop as a baby grows inside the womb. The organs usually move inside the body before the baby is born.
The intestines are long tubes that are part of your digestive system. The digestive system helps your body break down food, take in nutrients and remove waste. A hole in the abdominal wall forms beside the belly button and the intestines and other organs, like the stomach or liver, can poke through the hole and out of the body.
The hole can be small or large but is usually 1 to 2 inches in size. In a baby with gastroschisis, there is no membrane to cover and protect the organs, so they are exposed to amniotic fluid the fluid that surrounds a baby in the womb.
A membrane is a thin layer of tissues or cells that acts like a barrier. It allows some things to pass through, but stops other things.
Amniotic fluid can irritate the intestines and other organs. This can cause them to swell, shorten or twist. The organs may be covered by thick skin that looks like leather also called a peel. You may find out your baby has gastroschisis from a routine prenatal test medical tests you get during pregnancy that checks your baby for birth defects. Your health care provider also may check your baby for gastroschisis if you have a condition called polyhydramnios during pregnancy.
Polyhydramnios is when you have too much amniotic fluid. Soon after your baby is born, he needs surgery to put his organs back inside the body. Your health care provider may recommend you give birth at a hospital that has a newborn intensive care unit also called NICU. The NICU is the nursery in a hospital where sick newborns get medical care. Most of the time, gastroschisis can be fixed with one or two surgeries. After recovering from surgery, most babies with gastroschisis live normal lives.
You and your baby may have a team of providers who work together to treat gastroschisis and related complications. This team may include:. There are two types of treatment:. Your baby needs time to heal after surgery. He gets fed through a needle in the vein also called IV at first.
Once his intestines begin to work properly usually in 2 to 3 weeks , he may be fed by mouth or through a nasogastric tube also called an NG tube. You may choose to pump and freeze breast milk for feedings. Over time, your baby can do more feedings by mouth. This is a slow process, and your baby may need to stop during feedings to rest his intestine. In most cases, your baby can go home in 1 or 2 months, when he can take full feedings and has gained some weight.
Your baby may need more surgery later to repair the muscles in his belly. About 1 in 10 babies 10 percent born with gastroschisis also have a part of the bowel that does not develop correctly.
In these cases, your baby also may need:. Babies with gastroschisis may be born prematurely or born small due to slow growth in the womb before birth.
Babies with gastroschisis may have complications, including:. Breathing problems and heart problems. Your baby may need a breathing tube and breathing machine also called a ventilator for a few days or weeks after surgery. Feeding and digestion problems. A baby with gastroschisis may have scar tissue or an intestinal blockage that affects digestion.
This can decrease blood flow to the intestines and kidneys, causing your baby to have digestion problems after birth. In rare cases, babies with gastroschisis have a part of the intestine that is thinner than normal, are missing a part of the intestine or have a twisted intestine. These defects can damage the intestine and cause problems with digestion and absorbing nutrients from food. This condition is called short bowel syndrome. About 1 in 3 babies with gastroschisis develops necrotizing enterocolitis also called NEC.
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