Babies diagnosed with brain damage conditions like dementia, multiple sclerosis, and cerebral palsy can now have some hopes to obtain new treatments for restoring normal brain functioning. Lack of oxygen during birth can cause baby brain damage. Brain damage is a significant health concern for infants even at mild stages.
A baby born with this condition, shows various symptoms, including slowed development, and challenges in behavior and emotions. Proper treatment and early brain intervention may help to help the baby recover as fast and earlier as possible.
Although, even with early intervention and treatments, the baby may end up living with the effects of brain damage along with their lives. It is, therefore, essential to understanding the causes, symptoms, and how babies can reverse brain damage.
Table of Contents
What Are the Causes of Infants’ Brain Damage?
- Lack of oxygen during birth, a condition known as Asphyxiation. The babies’ brain needs oxygen around the birth time when the oxygen lacks even at a single minute, it leads to brain damage. Lack of oxygen may occur due to the mother having anemic conditions or little oxygen in the blood.
- Infections during pregnancy such as syphilis, measles, HIV, and herpes can affect the unborn infant. If these diseases are not adequately treated, the risk of brain damage increases or even baby brain damage.
- High blood pressure and elevated protein levels in the mother’s urine also increases the risk of babies’ brain damage and seizures.
- Physical damage occurs during birth, by the longtime pressure on the skull from the mother’s birth canal can cause direct damage by pressure or indirect damage due to bleeding or much fluid build-up.
Symptoms of Infant Brain Damage
Some babies may have a broad forehead, small head, and other abnormal facial appearances. Others may end up with paralysis if not treated earlier.
The infant might have unusual eye movements, aggressive behaviors, excessive crying at early stages, difficulties in swallowing, feeding, difficulty in sleeping, and anxiousness.
Sensory problems like sensitivity to the light, hearing problem, and more pain sensitivity may occur in the infant.
How Can Babies Reverse Brain Damage?
1. Resuscitation
Depending on the level of brain damage, a pediatrician can restore the babies’ consciousness by admitting the baby to the intensive care unit for proper care and support.
2. Infant cooling
Infant cooling is the latest adopted way of reversing brain damage at birth. The infant’s body temperature lowered to improve baby chances of oxygen starvation from developing severe brain damage or injuries. The cooling takes almost 72 hours.
The baby cooling therapy slows down your infant’s metabolism, which helps in preventing brain cells from dying due to a lack of oxygen.
However, this infant cooling cannot reverse an already occurred brain injury.
3. Imaging
CT scan is conducted on your baby’s head to discover if there is any case of swelling, bleeding, skull fractures, or ischemic brain tissues. A physical injury occurs during birth, and imaging follows to provide detailed brain images for effective treatment.
4. Surgical treatment
The surgery is recommendable in case of severe head trauma. Surgery helps to treat brain bleeding and also skull fractures, caused during delivery or birth instruments. Hemorrhage treated by surgery drains the fluids and blood collected in the brain and causes pressure on the brain.
5. Proper medications
Proper medications help with the treatment plan. For instance, brain damage conditions like seizures use anti-seizure medications. The pills help the child as they grow up struggling with behavioral and cognitive challenges. Drugs for treating ADHD helps babies with brain damage to control their abnormal behaviors and enable them to focus and concentrate in schools.
Conclusion
Babies’ brains are defenseless, especially during birth. Infections in the mother’s blood, oxygen lack, physical injury during delivery, and untreated jaundice can cause baby brain damage. However, the impairment might be mild, severe or long-lasting, causing cerebral palsy or slow development.
The treatment plans for infant brain damage depends on the type of injury, the extent to which the damage has occurred and the symptoms caused as a result of brain damage. It is essential to understand the vital treatment options for how babies can reverse brain damage.
Finally, it is essential to note that malpractice and medical negligence during your pregnancy care can play a significant role in your infant’s brain damage. Therefore, it is advisable to visit the healthcare facility during pregnancy for the fetal check-up. Delivering in the hospital rather than at home is also crucial.