Neonatal Encephalopathy

Neonatal encephalopathy, previously known as neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, is a syndrome of abnormal neurological function appearing in the first few days of life in an infant born after 35 weeks of gestation. Affected infants have difficulty initiating and maintaining breathing, a subnormal level of consciousness, and often depressed tone and reflexes, with possible seizures. The underlying injury combines hypoxia, a deficiency of oxygen, with ischemia, a restriction of blood flow to the brain, and is commonly caused by birth asphyxia.