Babies deprived of small amounts of oxygen at birth can suffer learning and behaviour problems in later life, research has shown.
A joint Irish/Swedish study revealed that such newborns suffer “impaired cognitive outcomes” compared to children with normal deliveries.
Experts now say cooling therapy should be considered for these babies to reduce the risks.
While the damage to babies’ brains due to a severe lack of oxygen was already known, the new study paints a grim picture of the effect small amounts of deprivation can cause.
Hypoxic Ischaemic Encephalopathy (HIE), causes brain injury and can leave newborns with permanent neurological damage or cerebral palsy.
Researchers at the Irish Centre for Maternal and Child Health Research (INFANT) at University College Cork (UCC), and colleagues at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, joined together to examine the outcome of mild oxygen loss in a large number of babies.
Combining data from infants in Cork and Stockholm, this study found that a significant number of children who suffer mild HIE at birth can cause learning or behavioural difficulties which become more significant over time.
The only proven treatment for HIE is Therapeutic Hypothermia (known as cooling therapy) if introduced within the first six hours of birth.
It reduces the risk of death and disability in infants with moderate to severe HIE.
The research out on Monday raises the question as to whether babies suffering mild HIE should be treated at birth with cooling therapy.
INFANT Principal Investigator, UCC Professor Deirdre Murray, 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 two 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.”
