What Is Neonatal Hypoglycemia

Neonatal Hypoglycemia (NH) is one of the most common metabolic problems in babies, and severe NH is one of the leading causes of a brain injury to your baby. When your baby is born, the doctors will often order your baby’s blood glucose (sugar) to be monitored even if your baby is completely healthy. This is because of danger that hypoglycemia can pose even to healthy babies.

When your baby’s blood does not deliver enough glucose (sugar) to the brain, the lack of sugar can lead to serious consequences to your baby’s young brain because an infant’s developing brain tissue depends on a steady supply of glucose as its main source of fuel for making the transition to life. When a baby’s brain doesn’t receive a sufficient amount of glucose, the cells in the brain begin to die, and this can lead to permanent brain damage, developmental delays, and long-term loss of brain tissue.

Known Conditions That Cause NH:

• Babies who are unusually small or large for gestational age
• Babies who were born to diabetic mothers
• Babies who have a history of asphyxia (HIE) or stress in the womb
• Babies with low thyroid hormone levels (hypothyroidism)
• Babies who have certain rare genetic disorders
• Preterm babies: may have poor nutrient reserves and immature hormone systems that can increase their risk

Long-Term Effects of neonatal hypoglycemia:
If neonatal hypoglycemia goes undiagnosed and/or untreated for too long, there is a chance for long-term injury:

• Brain damage
• Cerebral palsy
• Learning disabilities
• Developmental disabilities
• Epilepsy/seizures
• Vision problems
• Neuropsychiatry disorders

There are two types of neonatal hypoglycemia, transient (short-term) and persistent (long-term). Babies who have transient NH typically have a deficiency of glycogen stores at birth. This is common in babies that are born premature, who are small for gestational age, or experienced birth asphyxia.

Some infants with low blood sugar may not show symptoms. Routine blood tests are done following birth to check blood sugar levels. If signs and symptoms do surface:

• Bluish-colored skin (cyanosis) or pale skin
• Breathing problems, such as rapid breathing (tachypnea), pauses in breathing (apnea), or a grunting sound
• Irritability or listlessness
• Loose or floppy muscles (hypotonia)
• Vomiting or poor feeding
• Weak or high pitched cry
• Tremors, shakiness, sweating, or seizures

Treating Neonatal Hypoglycemia (NH)
There are several treatment options available for the management of neonatal hypoglycemia; however, selecting the appropriate intervention can be challenging as the underlying cause may take weeks to diagnose. Therefore, during the diagnostic process, it is important to prevent or minimize periods of hypoglycemia in an effort to mitigate potential adverse neurological outcomes caused by insufficient glucose availability for optimal brain function.

Treatment includes giving the baby a fast-acting source of glucose. This may be as simple as a glucose and water mixture or formula as an early feeding. Or your baby may need glucose given through an IV. The baby's blood glucose levels are checked after treatment to see if the hypoglycemia occurs again.

Aggressive management of neonatal hypoglycemia is important as impaired neurodevelopmental outcomes are recognized in this patient population.

Contact our Birth Injury Attorneys
The Texas Birth Injury Attorneys at Miller Weisbrod understand the significant impact a birth injury will have not only on your child's life, but also your own. As experienced Birth Injury Lawyers, we fight hard for answers and justice if a delivery room error or doctor's negligence caused your child's birth injury.

To discuss your case with an experienced Birth Injury Lawyer, please fill out the contact form on this page to schedule an appointment. You can also call us directly at 214-987-0005 or toll free at 888-987-0005.