Perinatal damage to the central nervous system includes all diseases of the brain and spinal cord.
They occur in the process of intrauterine development, during the birth process and in the first days after the birth of a newborn.
The course of perinatal damage to the central nervous system in a child
The disease proceeds in three periods:
1. The acute period. It occurs in the first thirty days after the birth of the baby,
2. The recovery period. Early, from thirty to sixty days of a baby’s life. And later, from four months to one year, in children born after three trimesters of pregnancy, and up to twenty-four months with early births.
3. The initial period of the disease.
In certain periods, various clinical manifestations of perinatal damage to the central nervous system in a child accompanied by syndromes occur. One baby may immediately experience several syndromes of the disease. Their combination helps to determine the severity of the disease and prescribe qualified treatment.
Features of syndromes in the acute period of the disease
In the acute period, the child experiences inhibition of the central nervous system, coma, increased irritability, and seizures of various etiologies.
In a mild form, with a slight perinatal lesion of the central nervous system in the child, he has an increase in the excitability of nerve reflexes. They are accompanied by trembling in silence, muscle hypertonicity, can also be accompanied by muscle hypotension. In children, chin tremors, trembling of the upper and lower extremities are noticed. The child behaves capriciously, sleeps poorly, cries for no reason.
With perinatal damage to the central nervous system in a child of a middle form, it is not very active after birth. The baby takes bad breasts. He has reduced swallowing reflexes of milk. After thirty days, the symptoms go away. Excessive excitability changes them. With the average form of damage to the central nervous system in the baby, skin pigmentation occurs. In appearance, it becomes like marble. The vessels have a different tone, the work of the cardiovascular system is disrupted. Breathing is not uniform.
In this form, the child's gastrointestinal tract is disturbed, the stool is sparse, the child spits up hard-to-eat milk, and there is bloating in the tummy that is heard well by my mother’s ear. In rare cases, the baby's legs, arms and head startle with convulsive attacks.
Ultrasound examination shows that in children with perinatal damage to the central nervous system, fluid accumulation in the compartments of the brain. The accumulated water contains spinal fluid, which provokes intracranial pressure in children. With this pathology, the baby's head increases by one centimeter every week, this can be noticed by the mother by the rapid growth of hats and the appearance of her child. Also, due to the fluid, a small fontanel is bulging on the child's head. The baby often spits up, behaves uneasily and moody due to constant pain in the head. May roll up over the upper eyelid. The child may show nystagmus, in the form of a jerking eyeball when placing the pupils in different directions.
During a sharp depression of the central nervous system, the child may fall into a coma. It is accompanied by a lack or confusion, a violation of the functional properties of the brain. In such a serious condition, the child should be under the constant supervision of medical personnel in the intensive care unit.
Features of syndromes in the recovery period
Syndromes of the recovery period with perinatal damage to the central nervous system in a child are distinguished by a number of symptomatic features: increased nerve reflexes, epileptic seizures, disruption of the musculoskeletal system. Also, in children, delays in psychomotor development caused by hypertonicity and hypotonicity of muscles are noticed. With a prolonged course, they cause involuntary movement of the facial nerve, as well as the nerve endings of the trunk and all four limbs. Muscle tone interferes with normal physical development. Does not allow the child to make natural movements.
With a delay in psycho-motor development, the child later begins to hold his head, sit down, crawl and walk. The baby has an apathetic daily state. He does not smile, does not make grimaces characteristic of children. He is not interested in developing toys and what is happening around him. Speech lag occurs. The kid later begins to pronounce "gu - gu", cries quietly, does not utter clear sounds.
Closer to the first year of life with constant monitoring by a qualified specialist, the appointment of the right treatment, and depending on the form of the initial disease of the central nervous system, the symptoms and signs of the disease may decrease or disappear altogether. The disease has consequences that persist at the age of one year:
1. Slows psycho - motor development,
2. The child begins to talk later,
3. mood swings,
4. Bad dream
5. Increased weather dependence, especially the condition of the child worsens with a strong wind,
6. Some children have hyperactivity, which is expressed by attacks of aggression. They do not focus on one subject, are hard to learn, and have a weak memory.
Serious complications of central nervous system damage can be epileptic seizures and cerebral palsy.
Diagnosis of perinatal CNS damage in a child
To make an accurate diagnosis and prescribe qualified treatment, diagnostic methods are performed: ultrasound with dopplerography, neurosonography, CT and MRI.
Ultrasound of the brain is one of the most popular in the diagnosis of the brain of newborns. It is made through a fontanel-free fontanel on the head. Ultrasound examination does not harm the health of the child, can be carried out often, as necessary to control the disease. Diagnosis can be made to small patients who are hospitalized in the ARC. This study helps determine the severity of CNS pathologists, determine the amount of cerebrospinal fluid and identify the cause of its formation.
Computer and magnetic resonance imaging will help to determine the problems of the vascular network and brain dysfunction in a small patient.
Doppler ultrasound will check the blood flow. Its deviations from the norm lead to perinatal damage to the central nervous system in the child.
Causes of perinatal damage to the central nervous system in a child
The main reasons are:
1. Hypoxia of the fetus during fetal development, caused by a limited supply of oxygen,
2. Injuries received during the birth process. Often occur when labor is slow and the baby is held in the mother’s pelvis,
3. Diseases of the central nervous system of the fetus can be caused by toxic drugs used by the expectant mother. Often these are drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs,
4. Pathology is caused by viruses and bacteria during fetal development.
Treatment for perinatal damage to the central nervous system in a child
If a child has problems with the central nervous system, it is necessary to consult a qualified neurologist to make recommendations. Immediately after birth, it is possible to restore the baby’s health by ripening dead brain cells, instead of those lost during hypoxia.
First of all, the child is given emergency care in the maternity hospital, aimed at maintaining the functioning of the main organs and breathing. Medications and intensive care are prescribed, including mechanical ventilation. Continue treatment of perinatal CNS damage in the child, depending on the severity of the pathology at home or in the children's neurological department.
The next stage is aimed at the full development of the child. It includes constant monitoring by a pediatrician at the site and a neurologist. Drug therapy, massage with electrophoresis to relieve muscle tone. Pulse current treatment, therapeutic baths are also prescribed. A mother should spend a lot of time for the development of her child, conduct a massage at home, walk in the fresh air, engage in a fighter ball, monitor proper nutrition of the baby and fully introduce complementary foods.
