Meconium gives the amniotic fluid a greenish color. This is called meconium staining. Coding Clinic, Second Quarter 2022 clarifies ‘light meconium-stained fluid’ and how to code it.  The presence of any meconium staining may indicate fetal distress, therefore code O77.0 (Labor and delivery affected by meconium in amniotic fluid) is appropriate to code if documented as such.   There does not need to be documentation of fetal distress or maternal conditions to code.

2022 ICD-10-CM CODE O77.0