When Newborn Babies Don't Cry

Crying newborn baby

The movie industry portray signal of child birth with a cry from the child. When women give birth to a child, they so expect the child to cry. If the child failed to cry, there is a general fear that grip mother and midwife. The next line of action is to force the child to cry. This is done through beating. It is true that majority of children at birth cry. But not all of them. There is a reason children cry. For those that don't, they may still be ok.

Why Newborn Babies Cry

For nine months, they spent their life in a warm comfortable place. Temperature ok, humidity fine, no light to disturb the eye, no stress breathing through the noise as the umbilical cord does just that and everything is working perfectly ok.  The next thing is a push through a door that barely accommodate them.
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Immediately they are out, the light in the room hit their eyes. Still struggling to accommodate that, the room temperature hit them as it is different from that of the womb and they have a very sensitive skin. If the umbilical cord is off at birth, they have to look for a new means to breath in oxygen. Nose clog with amniotic fluid. Under pressure to breath in oxygen with little or no idea how to, they do what they know how to do best, cry.
The first cry help them clear their lungs of the amniotic fluid that got there during birth and activate it for life. The cry send air down the lung's for the first time. Another reason that make children cry at birth is because of the pain they are feeling. The stress from the small door they came through gave them too much pressure and they start crying.

Why Newborn Babies Don't Cry

A baby that still have umblical cord attach at birth may not cry as the umblical cord keeps supplying oxygen to the baby for at least between 5-45 minutes. With no pressure to breath, the baby can stay until the nose is clear of amniotic fluid. Some will still cry even at this condition because of the other unfavorable condition. However, most will not cry if they are immediately reunited with the mother. The mother warm body will supply the baby all of it's envromental want at that time.
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Some babies still come out with a fair clear nose. Since babies cry as a respiratory effort to breath and clear the lungs, a little effort to breath through the nose is all that they need to clear the lungs. They may engage in heavy breathing to achieve that.
The stress of child birth can be daunting task for the child. Some come out feeling so tired and weak that the only solution is to get some rest. They end up sleeping for some hours. Their breathing still falls down to if the umbilical cord is still there or not and if the noise is clear. A quick sucking out the fluid in the noise will help.
A little science to explain this. There is a condition known as respiratory distress  syndrome, RDS. This is when phosphatidycholine production by the type 2 alveolar cells is low. As this enzyme is responsible for improving lung compliance as a pulmonary surfactant, a low amount by a baby will make the baby not to cry. This condition is not cause by the gene but it is random.
Aside from all this, we can say that each baby is wired differently. Why some come out crying out their voice to register their anger for bringing them out of their comfort zone, the others simply come out calm. They survey their surrounding looking at all the beautiful faces staring back at them and responding to loving and familiar voices. So when next you see a baby born into the world with surprise look on the face, remember it is not a must for them to cry.
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