Having a baby can be a wonderful experience for your whole family. But unfortunately, some births experience complications that can lead to injury and disorders. One birth related complication is hypoxic-ischemic brain injury. If you recently welcomed a newborn into the family, and there were complications during the birth, your child could have this type of brain injury. With hypoxic-ischemic brain injury, you need to act fast. The longer that this issue goes untreated, the more likely it can cause permanent damage, or even death. You can learn more about this type of brain injury and what to do if your baby has been diagnosed with it here.
What is a Hypoxic-Ischemic Brain Injury?
This type of brain injury is a result of lack of oxygen to the brain. This can damage a person’s spinal cord as well as their brain cells. Most typically, this type of brain injury occurs before, during, or just after childbirth. The good news is that this form of brain injury is fairly rare. However, if a person does sustain a hypoxic-ischemic brain injury, the damage it can cause could be permanent. In some cases, such a brain injury could even result in death.
Complications during a birth as well as other factors could contribute to hypoxic-ischemic brain injury. The exact causes of this issue are unknown, but studies point to several issues that could contribute to this injury. Some widely accepted causes of hypoxic-ischemic brain injury include:
- Umbilical cord complications during birth
- Maternal uterine rupture
- Issues with maternal blood pressure
- Placenta issues
In some cases, these issues are unavoidable and undetectable until a child is born.
Signs of brain damage after childbirth could point to a hypoxic-ischemic brain injury. Another common symptom is seizures.
Diagnosis and Prognosis
Unfortunately, there is still a lot that we don’t know about hypoxic-ischemic brain injury. While this issue has been studied extensively, prevention and detection before damage is done are still unknown. One issue is that this brain injury has similar symptoms to other problems related to childbirth. Because of this, it can be hard to diagnose this type of injury before it begins to cause permanent damage.
Because detection and diagnosis are so difficult, many newborns with hypoxic-ischemic brain injury die shortly after they are born. It is estimated that 15-20% of newborns with this brain injury die soon after birth. If a baby survives hypoxic-ischemic brain injury, they could still face lifelong problems. Many of these problems are neurological, such as mental retardation, cerebral palsy, learning disabilities, and epilepsy.
Getting Help
Complications during the birthing process can be devastating for the whole family. If something appears wrong with your baby, medical professionals should seek to diagnose a problem as soon as possible. In the event of hypoxic-ischemic brain injury, you should work closely with a doctor to determine an appropriate course of action.
If your baby does survive, you need to prepare for the possibility of them having lifelong limitations. You will likely have to become a caregiver for your child for the rest of their life. For information on how to do this, you can contact me. I am happy to provide additional resources and try to make this process as pain-free as possible.
