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Recent findings out of the Oregon Health and Science University questions the existing understanding that decreased blood flow to a premature fetus’ brain necessarily kills its brain cells.

The Doctors at the University and its attached Children’s hospital have discovered that low blood flow to the developing brain does not necessarily result in permanent loss of brain cells, but rather that it prevents the cells’ abilities to mature. The implications for medical malpractice and birth injury layers is that it may be possible to reverse, or at least mitigate the damage caused by lack of oxygen.

Dr. Stephen Back, professor of pediatrics and neurology at the Oregon University is quoted as saying that the new findings mean:
“…we can focus greater attention on developing the right interventions, at the right time early in development, to promote neurons to more fully mature and reduce the often serious impact of preterm birth. We now have a much more hopeful scenario.”
Approximately 8-percent of births in Canada are pre-term births. There are a number of added risks when a child is born even a few weeks early. One of the major risks is hypoxia or ischemia.

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