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Bowel Obstruction Treatments

What will happen after birth?

Your baby should be born at a hospital with an intensive care nursery and a pediatric surgeon. Soon after birth your child will have surgery to repair the abnormal piece of intestine. The pediatric surgeon will repair your baby's intestine in one of two ways.

If the stricture, or narrowing, is small the surgeon may be able to remove the damaged segment, taper the dilated portion, and sew the two ends of the intestine together. If the narrowing is long, or if the surgeon believes the intestine is damaged and cannot be used for a period of time, a temporary stoma may be placed. A stoma is a surgically created opening in the abdomen in which the small bowel is brought out through the abdominal wall. It is through this opening, or stoma, that stool will pass.

It is not possible before birth to known which surgical repair will be performed. The surgeon will make that decision in the operating room after looking at the intestine. Babies with bowel obstruction can stay in the hospital from one week to one month, depending on the amount of intestine involved in the defect. The return of the function of the gastrointestinal tract and the baby's ability to tolerate feedings are two things which determine length of stay in the hospital. Babies are discharged from the hospital when they are taking all their feedings by mouth and gaining weight. Most babies with bowel obstruction do not have long-term problems.

After discharge from the hospital, your baby is at risk for bowel obstruction due to scar tissue or a kink in a loop of bowel caused by the first operation. Symptoms of bowel obstruction include:

1. bilious (green) vomiting
2. a bloated stomach
3. no interest in feeding

If any of these symptoms occur, you should contact your pediatrician immediately