Newborn babies who suffer mild oxygen deprivation are affected later in life, research finds – RSVP Live

Babies who suffer even mild oxygen deprivation at birth are impacted later in life, new research has found.

A joint study by researchers at the Irish Centre for Maternal and Child Health Research (INFANT) at University College Cork (UCC), along with colleagues at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, discovered that the newborns had "impaired cognitive outcomes" compared to babies with uneventful deliveries.

Lack of oxygen to the newborn brain affects almost 200 babies in Ireland each year and results in death or disability in over 1 million infants each year globally.

The condition, known as Hypoxic Ischaemic Encephalopathy (HIE), causes brain injury due to lack of oxygen and can leave infants with permanent brain damage or cerebral palsy.

The researchers looked at data from 471 babies in Cork and Stockholm between 2007 and 2015.

They found that children with mild HIE at birth have significantly lower cognitive composite scores than children with uneventful deliveries when measured with the Bayley Scales of Toddler and Infant Development 3rd edition (BSITD-III) at 2-3 years.

These early delays can signal learning or behavioural difficulties which become more apparent over time.

The only proven treatment for HIE is Therapeutic Hypothermia (known as cooling therapy) if introduced within the first six hours of birth.

Cooling reduces the risk of death and disability in infants with moderate to severe HIE. Randomized controlled trials of cooling to date have not included infants with mild HIE due to a perceived good prognosis.

The findings, which were published in theJournal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Pediatrics, highlight the need for clinical trials of neuroprotective therapies to include children with mild HIE.

Speaking about the findings Professor Deirdre Murray, Head of Paediatrics and Child Health at Cork University Hospital, said: "The results from this study are significant. In 471 children recruited across two different countries we saw the same pattern.

"At present, doctors who care for these newborns do not know whether to treat them or not. No trials have studied effects in these infants with milder injury. Our study has shown that their development at 2 years is significantly lower than expected.

"A large, adequately powered, trial is urgently needed to answer this question and to guide doctors in their care of infants with mild HIE."

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Newborn babies who suffer mild oxygen deprivation are affected later in life, research finds - RSVP Live