Aristotle apparently was the first to give the name 'meconium' to the intestinal contents of the foetus. The word 'mecon-arion' means 'from poppy', or 'like opium', suggesting that the ancients believed it to be the substance maintaining the foetus asleep in the uterus! Meconium has interested people for a long time (Davy, 1844; Hymanson and Kahn, 1919), but it is only recently when serologists...

Since Neuhauser (I1944) drew attention to the radiological features of intra-abdominal calcification associated with meconium peritonitis, this condition has been diagnosed with increasing frequency. However, all cases showing intra-abdominal calcification at birth are not due to meconium peritonitis. Up to the present time four cases have been reported which show calcification within the lumen...

A variety of substances including human meconium have been found to affect adversely the surface tension-lowering activity of pulmonary surfactants, and this effect may be important in the pathogenesis of a number of human diseases. To find whether inactivation of surfactant could be prevented or reduced by nonionic polymers, we added dextrans, polyethylene glycols (PEGs), or polyvinylpyrrolido...

OBJECTIVE To identify the frequency and maternal and neonatal factors associated with meconium-stained amniotic fluid at birth. METHODS Cross-sectional study carried out with 2,441 births at an in-hospital birth center in the city of São Paulo (Southeastern Brazil) in March and April, 2005. The association between meconium-stained amniotic fluid and the independent variables (maternal age, pa...

AIM Identification of women with moderate alcohol abuse during pregnancy is difficult. We correlated self-reported alcohol consumption during pregnancy and patient characteristics with objective alcohol indicators measured in fetal meconium. METHODS A total of 557 women singleton births and available psychological tests, obstetric data and meconium samples were included in statistical analysi...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effectiveness of intrapartum prophylactic amnioinfusion in pregnancies complicated by meconium-stained amniotic fluid. DATA SOURCES We identified prospective clinical trials of amnioinfusion in pregnancies complicated by meconium-stained amniotic fluid (AF) published in English by using computerized databases, references in published studies, and index reviews. MET...

BACKGROUND Prenatal methamphetamine (MAMP) exposure is poorly reflected in neonatal meconium. Often, maternal self-reported MAMP use is not corroborated by positive results in amphetamines immunoassays of meconium, and even if initial test results are positive, they frequently are not confirmed for MAMP or amphetamine (AMP) by chromatographic analysis. The presence of the MAMP metabolites p-hyd...

The classical concept of passage of meconium by the fetus in response to hypoxia and its association with poor fetal outcome is controversial. However, conventionally, the passage of meconium by the fetus has been taken as an indication for urgent delivery. Although its exact cause is not known, factors ranging from mesenteric vasoconstriction induced gut hyperperistalsis, falling umbilical ven...

In accordance with the new guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association, all infants with meconium-stained amniotic fluid should no longer routinely receive intrapartum suctioning. If meconium is present and the newborn is depressed, the clinician should intubate the trachea and suction meconium and other aspirated material from beneath the glottis.