Uncommon Infant and Newborn Problems—Blood Clots

Also called: Hypercoagulability

Normally, if you get hurt, your body forms a blood clot to stop the bleeding. After the bleeding stops and healing takes place, your body usually breaks down and removes the clot. But some people get too many clots or their blood clots abnormally. Many conditions can cause the blood to clot too much or prevent blood clots from dissolving properly.

Risk factors for excessive blood clotting include

• Certain genetic disorders
• Atherosclerosis
• Diabetes
• Atrial fibrillation
• Overweight, obesity, and metabolic syndrome
• Some medicines
• Smoking
• Staying in one position for a long time, such as being in the hospital or taking a long car or plane ride
• Cancer and cancer treatments

Blood clots can form in, or travel to, the blood vessels in the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and limbs. A clot in the veins deep in the limbs is called deep vein thrombosis (DVT). DVT usually affects the deep veins of the legs. If a blood clot in a deep vein breaks off and travels through the bloodstream to the lungs and blocks blood flow, it is called a pulmonary embolism. Other complications of blood clots include stroke, heart attack, kidney problems, kidney failure, and pregnancy-related problems. Treatments for blood clots include blood thinners and other medicines.

• Arterial embolism (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Blood clots (Medical Encyclopedia)
• D-dimer test (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Prothrombin time (PT) (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Superficial thrombophlebitis (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Thrombophlebitis (Medical Encyclopedia)

It can be scary when your baby is sick, especially when it is not an everyday problem like a cold or a fever. You may not know whether the problem is serious or how to treat it. If you have concerns about your baby’s health, call your health care provider right away.

Learning information about your baby’s condition can help ease your worry. Do not be afraid to ask questions about your baby’s care. By working together with your health care provider, you make sure that your baby gets the best care possible.

• Brief resolved unexplained event — BRUE (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Crying – excessive (0-6 months) (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Failure to thrive (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Hemorrhagic disease of the newborn (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Hyperglycemia – infants (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Neonatal respiratory distress syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Neonatal sepsis (Medical Encyclopedia)
• Neutropenia – infants (Medical Encyclopedia)