Cooling Therapy Provides Help For Birth Injuries
A recent article in the Los Angeles Times highlighted the benefits of cooling therapy for cardiac arrest and now as a treatment that is gaining widespread acceptance as a method to help babies who have sustained birth injuries.
Its use has been called “the single most important advance in resuscitation science in the last ten years or so” for patients who have suffered cardiac arrest, but parents also see great hope in its use to prevent brain injuries in babies. Brain cooling – also known as therapeutic hypothermia - is now being routinely used to help infants who did not get enough oxygen during birth in order to protect their brains. Cerebral palsy is a common result oxygen deprivation at birth – which may be caused by medical malpractice -and brain cooling techniques have been shown to help in reducing the impact of birth injuries.
Cooling therapy works by using a special water-cooled cap, gel pads or blanket to cool a patient’s core body temperature a couple of degrees. By inducing a mild form of hypothermia, the brain's need for oxygen is reduced and the processes that damage brain cells are slowed. With the use of cooling therapy, doctors may be able to prevent long-term damage to the brain that may occur when a brain is deprived of oxygen for a short period of time.
It is also being tested for its potential to treat victims of stroke, heart attack, traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries.
Emergency cooling may provide great assistance to those in need. Medical malpractice may not only cause your child to suffer a birth injury but may also be demonstrated if health care providers fail to offer a technique such as cooling therapy that can help your child’s brain repair itself. If you have questions regarding brain cooling therapy, or have a child who suffered a birth injury, please consult the compassionate California birth injury lawyers at Bostwick & Peterson, LLP for an immediate consultation.
