Research suggests cooling treatment can reduce baby brain damage
Birth asphyxia (oxygen starvation) occurs when a baby’s brain and other vital organs are deprived of oxygen or blood at or around the time of birth.
Around 1,400 infants, two in every thousand full-term births, are affected by oxygen starvation in the UK every year.
Oxygen starvation can cause serious brain damage, cerebral palsy and even death in around half of the most severe cases.
More than 300 babies involved in research
According to research, babies who have been starved of oxygen at birth (birth asphyxia) have much less risk of suffering brain damage if they are given mild hypothermia by cooling treatments.
325 full-term babies who had been deprived of oxygen at birth across 33 hospital neonatal units in the UK and five hospitals in other countries including Ireland, Sweden, Hungary and Israel were involved in the trial.
Oxygen starvation at birth
The research showed that full-term babies who suffered oxygen starvation at birth were 57% more likely to survive without brain damage if their bodies were cooled. Doctors used a fluid-filled mat under the babies’ bed sheets to bring down their body temperatures by approximately 4C to 33-34C for 72 hours followed by gradual re-warming in intensive care. Normal body temperature is approximately 37C. It is not known exactly why decreasing a baby’s body temperature helps reduce brain damage but some doctors believe that slowing a baby’s metabolism lessens the after-shocks of the birth trauma and gives the brain time to recover.
Dr Denis Azzopardi from Imperial College London led the trial and said: “The study builds on a 20-year body of research but gives, for the first time, irrefutable proof that cooling can be effective in reducing brain damage after birth asphyxia. Although unfortunately it doesn't work in every case, our study showed the proportion of babies that survived without signs of brain damage went from 28% to 44% with cooling treatments - that's a 57% increase."
A representative from the children’s charity Bliss commented: “This is very welcome research into an area which is known to save lives. Cooling of babies with birth asphyxia is an innovative technique already being used in some neonatal centres. This is a specialist treatment that we would like to see used more widely to ensure the very best outcomes for our most vulnerable babies.”
Roll out to all neonatal units
The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) will now assess the research data and decide whether the cooling technique should be rolled out to all neonatal units in the UK.
Leading medical negligence lawyer Sue Brown at Reading based Boyes Turner says “Many of the babies and young children that we act for have received 'cooling' treatment in the first few days after birth because they have suffered a lack of oxygen at the time of their delivery. It is encouraging to see that the outcome for babies undergoing this treatment is improved and hopefully it will not be too much longer before this treatment is more readily available. At the moment it is only available at a handful of neonatal units and often means that the baby has to be transferred to another hospital only adding to the stresses that parents go through at this very difficult time.”
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