Neonatal Hie: A Case Study

There are more than 70% of premature babies that are born between 34 and 36 weeks gestation a year. When a baby is born early, or born with birth defects, the Neonatal Intensive Care unit is its first home. The nurse’s in the NICU have the difficult job of preparing baby’s and parents for a health life together. A baby who has been put into the NICU will stay there until it is healthy enough to go home.

Anencephaly is a congenital neurological disorder characterized by absence of the cerebrum and cerebellum, as well as the top of the skull, resulting in exposure of the brain stem. Even though the brain stem is exposed this does not mean that the babies brain or head is completely missing. This is considered one of the more serious birth defects that a baby can have because they baby will never have the brain power to grow and become an adult. Many of these babies are exposed to various infections and will only live up to one week even though some have lived up to one year at the most. Anencephalics are seen as a huge source of organ donation because they are not damaged like other babies such as babies who have been abused or babies that have been in car accidents. Many of these babies that need the organs of anencephalics are usually the ones who have heart defects. Parents such as Laura Campo heard about this type of donor possibility when she was pregnant at twenty four weeks and found out about her child being anencephalic there was no way for her to abort the baby because she was too far along. This resulted in Laura Campo going to the Florida District Court but since Laura’s baby girl who she named Theresa, by Harvard Law was not brain dead they were not allowed to use her organs for donation. The judge Estella Moriarty was begged by the family to pronounce her brain dead so they could save another child’s life but instead Theresa’s organs began to fail. Once her

Defining premature birth is much more than just a denotative phrase. It is not just a preterm birth, or a baby born early. It is a life-changing event, and something that affects millions of people worldwide. The intense quiet room with heart monitors beeping, as parents see their baby and are devastated. Loved ones can not feed them or kiss them nor, can they not hold them or hug them. They do not get the same experience as others. Little miracles lay inside these cubes where multiple wires are help keeping them alive. A place where prayers happen, and where all hope for the best. Nobody knows the true pain and struggle behind a preterm birth and it needs to be discussed. Prematurity is a serious conflict; therefore, it needs more awareness as many families are facing this tough situation.

According to statistics, if the anencephalic child is delivered via cesarean section at full term, there is a better chance of that child being born alive, if only for a little while. Once the exposed brain comes into contact with the air, there is a great risk of infection. Most babies with this condition die from cardiorespiratory

PROJECT PURPOSE (Describe the project, identify major issues, clarify the vision, and describe the strategies used to create the desired outcome.)

Jace Sauseda Clinical Rotation Mrs. Ysaguirre 17 November 2015 NICU Clinical Report At the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit doctors, nurses, and all staff unite together with one primary goal for each new life they receive, that goal being to achieve the best outcome for each premature and critically ill baby. The NICU, at University Hospital, care for 600 infants annually. Inside is a 58-bed facility, offering the highest level care led by on-site neonatologist (University Health system). The (NICU) is specialized to care for premature infants (those less than 37 weeks gestation) as well as sick newborns.

Low birth weight (LBW), defined as an infant weighing less than 2500g at birth, and very low birth weight (VLBW), infants <1500g, are health outcomes that themselves are indicators of future health outcomes, as well as present and future morbidity and mortality risk (“Birth Outcomes,” 2017). A large component of these associated outcomes are neurobehavioral, manifesting as impaired cognitive and language development measured in childhood, as well as lower IQ, poorer academic achievement, and reduced executive function measured later on (Aarnoudse-Moens et al., 2009; Barre et al., 2011; Hack et al., 2002; Linsell et al., 2015; Litt et al., 2012). Although decreasing in prevalence, neurosensory impairments, such as cerebral palsy, blindness,

Now, medical advances make it possible for even the most severe premature babies to survive. Preterm babies as young as 22 to 23 weeks gestation can survive, but the costs associated with them is high (Kornhauser & Schneiderman, 2010). The higher cost is attributed to the extended hospital stay of micro preemies in Level 3 NICU (Bird, 2014). Level 3 NICU offers a wide range of neonatal services that include special imaging techniques, advanced ventilation

This means that the brain isn’t ready until the full 9 months. These infants are unable to deal with the light, sound, and shapes around them. I have visited a NICU and the quite and soundless rooms are just what these premature babies need. Elizabeth is part of a study by Heidelise Als done from infancy to 8 years-old. These studies include EEG’s and monitoring of brain development. The NICU which she stays in was created specifically for her. It is made to be like a womb, soft and quite with a lot of skin to skin contact with mom. After six weeks in the NICU Elizabeth was strong enough to go

Now, medical advances make it possible for even the most severe premature babies to survive. As in case of Preterm babies as young as 22 to 23 weeks ( Micro preemies), level 3 NICU offers a wide range of neonatal services including special imaging techniques, advanced ventilation procedures, and special surgeries (Bird, 2014). Advanced technology has helped to increase the survival rate for even the most severe preterm babies, but the costs associated with them is high (Kornhauser & Schneiderman, 2010). The average cost for treating the micro preemie has been estimated to be more than $ 2 million (Kornhauser & Schneiderman, 2010). Nevertheless, this projected cost is excluding the cost of treating long term outcomes in the micro preemies. The

Sitting in the hospital waiting room, the doctor’s condolences wash over you as you desperately try to make sense of his words: “Anencephaly. It’s a rare genetic disorder. I’m sorry, but there’s no treatment or cure. Your son has a few weeks at most.”

Neonatal cerebral hypoxia-ischemia (HI) remains a major cause of death and neurological disability. Neural stem cells (NSCs) shows great promise in restoring HI-associated neurological tissue damage and hypothermia is reported to be beneficial for HI recovery in animal studies. We aimed to investigate whether mild hypothermia after neonatal cerebral hypoxia-ischemia (HI) could enhance the therapeutic effect of NSCs transplantation with a neonatal HI mouse model. Postnatal day 7 mice underwent right common carotid artery ligation followed by 1.5 h of hypoxia. After HI, these mice underwent different treatments with hypothermia, NSCs transplantation, or both. Animals were sacrificed at 24, 48, 72 h and 1, 2, 4 week after the HI. The numbers of apoptotic cells, survived, and differentiated grafted cells were counted. The levels of caspase-3 and NF-κB protein were analyzed. And the restoration of sensorimotor and behavioral functions of HI mice was assessed. We found caspase-3-dependent apoptosis and inflammation were significantly lower in the NSCs+hypothermia group. Meanwhile, transplanted cells survived and differentiated better in the NSCs+hypothermia group, and animals of this group exhibited enhanced functional recovery in sensorimotor and behavioral tests. These observations suggest that mild hypothermia enhances the therapeutic effect of NSCs in HI mice through protecting grafted cells, suppressing apoptosis, and attenuating NF-κB signaling.

The objective of the study conducted by Sabol and Caughey was to evaluate the rate of neonatal acidemia which occurs in neonates with a five-minute Apgar score of ≤7. The researcher wanted to determine factors associated with an increased risk of neonatal acidemia and their associated outcomes. The Apgar score is used for fetal assessment at the time of birth, whereas, the collection of fetal cord blood gases is usually done in high-risk circumstances. It is also done in circumstances of Apgar scores of <7. Neonatal acidemia at the time of delivery can result in significant neonatal morbidity and death. Recognizing this connection, knowledge of the fetal acid-base state and detection of acidemia at the date of delivery can help as a sensitive and useful part of the assessment of a neonate's risk. It was wise of the authors to consider race/ethnicity, maternal age, insurance status, gestational diabetes mellitus, chronic hypertension, and preeclampsia. All of those factors influence the results of the study.

Even though survival of premature infants has improved one in four extremely premature infants, those of the gestational age of twenty-two to twenty-eights weeks, did not survive the birth hospitalization (Patel et al., 2015, p. 332). Doctor Ravi M. Patel M.D., Sarah Kendefer M.D., Michele C. Walch M.D., and other researchers at the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Neonatal Research Network set out to find the “Causes and Timing of Death in Extremely Premature Infants from 2000 through 2011”. The study was performed to “…evaluate the causes and timing of death among extremely premature infants…” (Patel et al., 2015, p. 332). The researchers hypothesized that the frequency of pulmonary causes

Baby Theresa is a very unique case. Theresa Ann Campo Pearson was an infant born in Florida 1992, with Anencephaly, which is where the two most important parts of the brain are missing, the cerebrum and cerebellum, as well as the top of the skull. Without these parts of the brain she would never have had higher brain functions or consciousness. However, there is still a brain stem connected so all the autonomic functions are still working, such as having a heart beat and breathing. Anencephaly is known as one of the worst congenital disorders, thus these cases are usually detected during pregnancy and aborted. If not aborted, half are stillborn or if born alive, they usually die within a few days. In