Perinatal hypoxia and its impact on neurodevelopment

During the perinatal period the brain can be deprived of oxygen by two major mechanisms, hypoxemia and ischemia. The first consists in a decrease in blood oxygen concentration and the second in the amount of blood that irrigates the brain. Clinically, it is known as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy; a syndrome characterized by severe suspension or decreased gas exchange in the placenta or lungs, resulting in hypoxemia, hypercapnia and tissue hypoxia with metabolic acidosis. A metabolic short-term change causes necrotic damage and long-term change causes apoptotic damage. The main neurological injuries that occur are selective neuronal necrosis, parasagittal brain injury and periventricular leukomalacia, causing sequelae such as cerebral palsy, epilepsy, speech and language disorders, lost hearing and neuropsychological deficits, especially in attentional, mnemonic, and visuospatial proceses. In our country, an incidence of 14.6 per 1,000 live births, with a mortality rate of 8.5% and 3.6 sequels index% are reported. Despite the large number of studies about consequences of perinatal hypoxia are still few institutional level programs focused on early diagnosis and treatment.