Birth Asphyxia

Studying brain-cooling for birth asphyxia

In high income countries brain cooling is standard treatment for neonatal encephalopathy - unexpected, devastating brain injury due to low oxygen and blood in the baby's brain at birth. This therapy reduces mortality and ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Mar 21, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Study finds association between oxygen deprivation before birth and ADHD

Children who had in-utero exposure to ischemic-hypoxic conditions, situations during which the brain is deprived of oxygen, were significantly more likely to develop attention deficit hyperactivity disorder later in life ...

Attention deficit disorders created Dec 10, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Benefits of hypothermia for infants continue through early childhood

A treatment to reduce the body temperatures of infants who experience oxygen deficiency at birth has benefits into early childhood, according to a follow-up study by a National Institutes of Health research network.

Obstetrics & gynaecology created May 30, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Simple, low-cost checklist dramatically improves practices of health workers during childbirth

Boston, MA ─ A new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the World Health Organization (WHO) found that a simple checklist-based childbirth safety program dramatically improved adherence to essential ...

Obstetrics & gynaecology created May 16, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Idaho case shows midwife tension with hospitals

(AP) -- Midwives and doctors are longtime rivals in the politics governing where women should give birth: Home or hospital.

Health created May 01, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Enzyme controlling cell death paves way for treatment of brain damage in newborns

where the brain is starved of oxygen around the time of delivery – is normally treated by cooling the infant, but this only helps one baby in nine. New research from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University ...

Medical research created Oct 25, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Novel program is saving newborns' lives in developing countries

A program that teaches health care workers in developing countries basic techniques to resuscitate babies immediately after birth is saving lives, according to a study to be presented Tuesday, May 3, at the Pediatric Academic ...

Health created May 03, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


Intrauterine hypoxia (IH, and birth asphyxia) occur when the fetus is deprived of an adequate supply of oxygen. IH is used to describe inadequate oxygen availability during the gestation period, birth asphyxia (also referred to as perinatal asphyxia or Asphyxia neonatorum ) can result from inadequate supply of oxygen immediately prior to, during or just after delivery. There is considerable controversy over the diagnosis of birth asphyxia due to medicolegal reasons. Because of its lack of precision, the term is eschewed in modern obstetrics.

IH may be due to a variety of reasons such as cord prolapse, cord occlusion, placental infarction and maternal smoking. Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) may cause or be the result of hypoxia. Birth asphyxia may result due to prolonged labor, breech delivery in full-term infants; placental abruption, and maternal sedation in premature infants. Oxygen deprivation is the most common cause of perinatal brain injury.

Intrauterine hypoxia and birth asphyxia can cause hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy which is cellular damage that occurs within the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord) from inadequate oxygen. This results in an increased mortality rate, including an increased risk of Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Oxygen deprivation in the fetus and neonate have been implicated as either a primary or as a contributing risk factor in numerous neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders such as epilepsy, ADHD, eating disorders and cerebral palsy. " The problem of perinatal brain injury, in terms of the costs to society and to the affected individuals and their families, is extraordinary." (Yafeng Dong, PhD)

This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

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