2024
Overview
Neonatal brain injury refers to damage to the brain of a newborn that occurs around the time of birth or in the early days of life. It can arise from a range of causes, including oxygen deprivation during labor and delivery (hypoxic-ischemic injury), bleeding within the brain, infection, stroke, or trauma. Because the newborn brain is undergoing rapid development, such injury can affect motor function, cognition, vision, hearing, and behavior, with consequences that may range from transient difficulties to lasting disability such as cerebral palsy, and in severe cases can be life-threatening. Early recognition is central to care. Clinicians use clinical assessment, neuroimaging, and electrophysiological monitoring to identify injury, while interventions such as therapeutic hypothermia for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, supportive intensive care, and early developmental follow-up aim to limit damage and improve outcomes. Research in neonatology also explores biomarkers that could help detect injury and predict prognosis sooner. As a topic within neonatology, neonatal brain injury connects obstetric and perinatal care with long-term neurodevelopmental health. This page gathers peer-reviewed, open-access research relevant to the causes, detection, and care of brain injury in the newborn.
Research published in this journal
1 peer-reviewed article, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.