A mother of a 'cooled' baby has launched a fundraising campaign
A mother of a 'cooled' baby has launched a fundraising campaign to support the pioneering research into neonatal brain cooling at St Michael's Hospital, Bristol. Cooling Campaign aims to raise funds and awareness for this groundbreaking, life-saving work.
Perinatal asphyxia is a devastating complication affecting 1 in 1000 otherwise healthy full-term infants. It occurs when the blood flow to the brain is cut off during labour and childbirth. If the brain and vital organs are starved of oxygen, the risk of death or lifelong disability such as cerebral palsy is worryingly high.
Professor Marianne Thoresen at St Michael’s Hospital, Bristol has been pioneering neurological protection treatments for asphyxia in babies since 1998. She was one of the first to show that cooling babies who have suffered lack of oxygen at birth can protect the newborn brain, reducing and in some cases eliminating brain damage.
Josie, mother of Dylan Budd who was born critically ill and rushed to Bristol for the revolutionary cooling treatment, says "Our story has a happy ending but statistics have shown that he was one of the lucky ones. Babies in Dylan's condition at birth often don't make it and even brain cooling can not always make the difference."
The statistics have prompted Professor Thoresen to press on with new research, currently trialing additional treatments such as administering xenon with the cooling which is so far proving to double the brain protection.
When I last saw her in clinic she spoke of research she would like to conduct and how difficult it is to secure funding for this important life-saving work. We are hoping to raise sufficient funds to enable the team to buy some equipment that will help a baby's survival prospects", says Josie.
Please visit the Cooling Campaign website to read more.
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