Hypoxia is a clinical condition that involves improper circulation of oxygen to tissues, organs or in some cases the entire body. Hypoxia differs form anoxia in that there is still some oxygen supply available to the tissue, where as in the case of anoxia there is no oxygen available to the tissues at all. In rare cases due to various factors children are born with poor oxygen circulation to the body and organs and this condition is known as birth hypoxia or perinatal hypoxia. In child hypoxia the infant is born with a condition where the body does not receive sufficient oxygen to meet its demands.



Hypoxia can occur due to different reasons, in new born children it can be caused by an underdeveloped circulatory system, or due to a low haemoglobin count. Although the reasons could vary the symptoms of hypoxia are pretty much the same. Infants with birth hypoxia usually exhibit cyanosis (the skin has a blue tinge to it) and are prone to seizures, nausea and other medical complications associated with hypoxia. Currently 37% of all children suffering from severe birth hypoxia die. Since an infant's oxygen demands are massive sometimes no matter how hard physicians try the body does not receive its fair quota of oxygen and the infant succumbs to the lack of oxygen. Another problem in hypoxia cases is that sometimes it takes weeks before the results of hypoxia are visible by which time it might just be too late to reverse the effects.

In other cases where the infant does survive severe birth hypoxia there are added complications like retarded mental development and permanent disability. Since the brain is one of the most oxygen hungry organs of the body birth hypoxia deprives the brain from oxygen and the brain cells are damaged resulting in disability. In such conditions where the brain suffers as a result of insufficient oxygen, hypoxia results in hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). The effects of HIE are by and large irreversible and unless steps are taken immediately HIE results in permanent disability.

Treatment of hypoxia on a whole involves increasing the oxygen flow to the body, the simplest and the oldest known method to combat hypoxia is oxygen inhalation therapy. Also if the cause of hypoxia is determined then treatment of the underlying condition also occurs. What has to be kept in mind is that the effects of hypoxia on other tissues may be reversible, but cerebral hypoxia is permanent and once the neurons of the brain are damaged they cannot be repaired. In fact this is the reason why the body ensures that the brain receives proper oxygen supply at all times. In case of cerebral hypoxia the body automatically diverts blood to the brain on a priority basis.

The good news is that mild and moderate hypoxia has very little impact on the brain, and its effects are by and large reversible. However in the case of severe birth hypoxia the effects on the brain are irreversible and it can result in a variety of problems, like seizures, fits, irreversible brain damage and more.

Prognosis

Mild and moderate hypoxia usually has no effect other than the hypoxia itself. However in the case of severe hypoxia the effects can range from permanent disability, to death. In cases of cerebral hypoxia the long term impact of hypoxia depends on the effectiveness of damage control and the amount of tissue damage that has occurred as a result of hypoxia. If hypoxia results in coma, this is usually an indication of long term damage. If the infant does survive the coma there is a high probability of irreparable brain damage, and the longer the coma lasts the lesser the chances of recovery. It is important to remember that effects of hypoxia sometimes take time to develop and even in cases of birth hypoxia the severity of the hypoxia is sometimes not visible immediately after birth.