The reasons for this are not entirely clear. And in low- and middle-income countries, the success rate is even much lower. “In high-income countries, the procedure is well established, however, about 40 percent of treated children do not benefit from it. The scientist and physician is a research group leader at DZNE and a senior physician in the Department of Neonatology and Pediatric Intensive Care at UKB. This increases the chances of survival and reduces the risk of late effects,” explains Prof. “The cooling slows down the metabolism and gives the brain the opportunity to regenerate. This involves lowering the babies’ body temperature to around 33 degrees Celsius for several days and then gradually raising it again. To address this, so-called therapeutic hypothermia has been used for several years. Globally, 1 million newborns die due to birth asphyxia per year. In Germany, such issues are rare, but on a global level, birth asphyxia is one of the main causes of death among newborns. Subscribe for FREEĬhildren, who experience oxygen deprivation during birth – a condition known as “birth asphyxia” –, must be treated immediately, because this situation causes brain damage and poses an imminent life threat.

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