What is a Neonatal Stroke?
This is a stroke that happens sometime during the first month of the baby’s life. If it happens in the first week, it’s called a perinatal stroke. In both cases, the brain lacks oxygen and there is a clot in the blood vessel.
A baby who has suffered a stroke during delivery or shortly after may begin to have seizures, but they don’t always occur. It’s quite possible and often likely that no one will realize what happened for several weeks or months if development is delayed.
Some symptoms of a neonatal stroke include the following:
- Difficulty with feeding
- Weakness on one side of the body
- Lethargy and extreme tiredness
- Periods where the baby stops breathing
- Neurological impairment
Why Strokes Happen
The most common reason for a neonatal stroke is a blood clot prevents blood flow to the brain or spinal cord. Bleeding in the brain is another cause of stroke, which can happen because of an aneurysm or malformations of veins. Clotting disorders can also cause strokes.
If the stroke happens during pregnancy, it could be caused by an infection in the placenta or abruption of the placenta. Disorders of the blood or lipids can be another factor. While these factors can cause concern, it’s possible for a baby born without issue after an uncomplicated pregnancy to have a stroke.
Treatment and Recovery
A doctor will most likely take an image of the baby’s brain if a stroke is suspected. Once diagnosed, anticoagulants are often prescribed as treatment. Other experimental treatments exist with positive results, but they aren’t considered standard procedure.
One of the issues with a neonatal stroke is that many of the infants that survive develop cerebral palsy. The sooner you can recognize that a stroke has occurred and begin treatment, the better the chance of recovery with no disabilities.
Therapy is often recommended for babies to improve the use of any affected areas. Physical and occupational therapists will work with the infant and may give the parents exercises to do at home.
What Parents Need to Know
First, it’s important to know that when a stroke has been diagnosed, it may not be possible to tell when it occurred or why if there are no noticeable symptoms. Second, treatment is important even if the stroke happened weeks or months earlier.
Your baby may go through many tests to check for developmental delays. Impact of the stroke to vision and speech may not be assessed until the baby is older. However, treatment can still be given to help with any issues that are discovered. MRIs and other tests may be scheduled for months or years after the diagnosis to check for damage. Babies can recover from even the darkest predictions for the future and suffer no ill effects. For those who do experience issues, many resources exist to help parents.
