Hypothermia to help new borns with brain damage
Posted on: 04/Nov/2015 9:44:24 AM
According to neonatologists and paediatricians in the city, keeping newborns cold help them recover faster when there are brain injuries caused by lack of oxygen supply during birth.
A doctor from a leading city hospital says, Certain complications during birth, like entwining of the cord around the baby`s neck or large size of the baby can cut the oxygen and blood supply to the infant`s system. The brain takes the hit instantly and the brain cells slowly begin to get damaged, not just for the duration of the injury but for days after the baby appears to have recovered. But when we freeze the brain using hypothermia treatment, this damage is minimised... (We) use a cooling blanket or ice packs to do this. The reduced temperature helps re-programme the cells and minimise cell death. When the need for oxygen, glucose and blood come down, the nerve cells in the brain are protected.
A paediatrician from another leading hospital says, The method is widely practiced and has produced successful outcomes in babies with brain injury. Birth asphyxia can cause permanent damage to the brain if not treated immediately. It can lead to certain physical and intellectual disabilities in children in the future. The baby should be put on the cooling treatment within six hours of birth and be kept on it for 72 hours. It decreases morbidity to a large extent. Once the damage is repairable, the baby is warmed up again to the normal temperature.
But this treatment cannot be given to babies born before 38 weeks of pregnancy.
