When you prepare to give birth in New York, your main goal may be to leave the hospital with a healthy newborn. However, certain issues may arise during the birthing process that may have a serious, potentially lifelong impact on your baby’s health and physical condition.
Per UCLA Health, if your baby fails to receive enough oxygen during the birthing process, it has the potential to result in a brain injury.
Statistics on infant brain injuries
Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy occurs when your baby fails to receive an adequate supply of oxygen during the birthing process. The condition affects several babies out of every thousand born across the United States, and about 15% of those affected wind up dying as a result. Of the babies that do survive, somewhere between about 20% and 25% of them end up with permanent disabilities involving neurodevelopmental impairment.
Treatment for infant brain injuries
The likelihood of your baby recovering fully after Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy depends to a large extent on how soon he or she undergoes treatment. The initial birth injury causes inflammation. Yet, if left untreated, it often leads to secondary brain damage within a few days after the initial injury occurred. However, cooling your infant’s brain and body through a process called therapeutic hypothermia helps reduce brain injury risks if applied within six hours of your baby’s birth.
So far, research regarding the success of therapeutic hypothermia appears promising and suggests that early intervention is key. Babies treated using therapeutic hypothermia show improvement when compared to babies who receive traditional care for Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy.
