Birth Injuries Reduced by Cooling

A recent study published in The Lancet Neurology has found that by cooling babies who have been deprived of oxygen at birth, the risk of brain injury is significantly decreased. Many infants who lack oxygen at the time of their birth suffer brain damage, resulting in disabilities that can last a lifetime. However, this new study has found that cooling infants reduces the amount of cerebral lesions caused by oxygen deprivation.

For the study, researchers used MRI scans to observe whether cooling caused fewer brain lesions in 131 newborns. They found that in the infants who were cooled, there were 30 to 40 percent fewer lesions in specific areas of the brain responsible for neurological development. Also, the scans of the cooled infants were three times more likely to be normal than the scans of infants who did not undergo cooling.

One previous research study found that by chilling newborns that were deprived of oxygen at birth, the rates of cerebral palsy could be reduced and motor skills could be improved later on in life.

Oxygen deprivation can cause hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, a condition where the cells in the central nervous system are damaged, possibly causing death. A lack of oxygen during birth can also cause cerebral palsy, accounting for roughly 20 percent of CP cases. If your child suffered a birth injury that may have been preventable, call or e-mail our birth injury attorneys at Silberstein, Awad & Miklos today. One of our experienced birth injury lawyers will evaluate your case for free.

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