HIE

HIE - Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy - happens in 2 to 3 of every 1,000 live births, and more in childhood, but many have no idea what it is.

Cooling
April 12, 2023•2 min read

HIE can be caused before, during and after birth. Placental abruption or other placental issues, uterine rupture, fetalmaternal hemorrhage, shoulder dystocia, cord compression and cord issues, mismanaged birth, near SIDS and cardiac arrest are just a few causes.

  • HIE stands for Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy, or lack of oxygen from restricted blood flow to the brain. It is a type of brain injury.

  • HIE can cause cerebral palsy, epilepsy (including several rare epilepsies), hearing and vision impairments, learning and attention issues, feeding and GI issues, and other developmental delays and disabilities

  • Most people haven’t heard of HIE, because disparities continue to exist in care, communication and connection for HIE families. Equity in NICU experiential messaging continues to be a barrier to awareness and understand for the general population, as many in the neonatal space have dismissed the lived experiences of non-premature families and conditions.

  • HIE NICU experiences vary greatly from more well-known causes of NICU experiences like prematurity. HIE babies are typically born very very sick, and many qualify for a specific type of treatment called therapeutic hypothermic cooling, taking a babies body temperature to 91 degrees F to slow down the chain reaction of the brain injury.

  • HIE can be caused by placental issues, uterine rupture, cord compression, cord issues such as a true knot, placental abruption, labor that takes too long or is not followed properly. In young children, near SIDS events, near drowning, cardiac arrest and other ways to cause a lack of oxygen cause HIE.

  • Outcomes from HIE vary from unaffected/mildly impacted to loss of life, and everything in between.

  • There remains a significant gap of research dedicated to prevention and improvement in the onset of symptoms, but that is beginning to change.

  • Organizations like Hope for HIE are working to improve the quality of life for children and families impacted by HIE through Awareness, Education and Support, connecting with top clinicians and researchers in HIE and newborn brain care to work to decrease the impacts of HIE.

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