Definition

Noun: A newborn infant whose skin has a bluish tint, typically due to a congenital heart defect that prevents adequate oxygenation of the blood.

Usage

The term "blue baby" is a clinical descriptor for a specific medical condition observed at birth. It is used to describe the infant's appearance, which signals a serious underlying health issue, most commonly a heart defect.

Examples

• The doctors immediately attended to the blue baby in the neonatal intensive care unit.
• Before modern surgery, a blue baby had a very low chance of survival.
• The condition known as "blue baby syndrome" can also be caused by methemoglobinemia, not just heart defects.

Advanced Usage

• "Blue baby syndrome": This is the full medical term for the condition. It historically referred specifically to tetralogy of Fallot but is now used more broadly for any cause of cyanosis in a newborn.
• The term can be used attributively (functioning like an adjective) in medical contexts, e.g., "blue baby surgery" refers to corrective operations.

Variants and Related Words

• Cyanotic infant: A more formal, clinical synonym.
• Cyanosis: (Noun) The medical term for the bluish discoloration of the skin due to low oxygen.
• Congenital heart defect: (Noun phrase) The most common underlying cause.

Synonyms

• Cyanotic newborn
• Infant with cyanosis

Notes on Meaning

The primary meaning relates to congenital heart disease. A secondary, distinct meaning involves "blue baby syndrome" from nitrate contamination in water, which causes a different type of blood oxygenation problem (methemoglobinemia). In both cases, the defining feature is the bluish skin color (cyanosis).

Noun

1. an infant born with a bluish color; usually has a defective heart