Birth asphyxia occurs when a newborn’s brain and other vital organs do not receive enough oxygen either before, during, or right after birth. For a number of infants born each year, birth asphyxia can be a devastating condition that can lead to permanent brain damage or even death. However, an interesting new study conducted by the Imperial College in London shows a new type of therapy may increase an infants’ chances of survival. Brain cooling therapy, which involves applying a “coolcap” hat filled with water to the head of newborn, done immediately after birth, can significantly improve the survival rate of a hypoxic infant.
The Imperial College study revealed that brain cooling can reduce brain swelling and also lower the child’s body’s metabolic rate, which allows the baby’s organ to function healthily with less oxygen. Infants whose brains were “cooled” were shown to have a 25 percent greater survival rate than those who did not. The head of the study declares that this new study builds upon a 20-year body of research, but for the first time offers “irrefutable proof” that brain cooling therapy can be effective in reducing brain damage in a baby who has suffered from birth asphyxia. In addition, the study shows that brain cooling has proved to be the most effective of all the treatments intended to remedy brain damage.
This study is excellent news for parents whose future newborn may suffer from birth asphyxia and subsequent brain damage, which can lead to life-altering conditions such as cerebral palsy. Certain causes of brain damage and other types of birth injuries are not preventable, but others – such as the proper treatment being administered by medical staff – are. When a child suffers a birth injury that was caused by the negligence of a medical professional, the news can be that much more devastating for families, as it could have been prevented. The birth injury attorneys in Tennessee at Massey & Associates, P.C. are dedicated to helping families obtain compensation for their child’s injury. Please call (423) 697-4529 for a complimentary consultation.
