Cooling therapy, also called therapeutic hypothermia, might be one of the most effective therapies when it comes to reducing the effects of asphyxia during the birth process, including cerebral palsy.

Typically, a “cooling blanket” or “cooling cap” system is used to cool the baby at 33 to 33.5 degrees Celsius, for a period of about 72 hours. At the end of the cooling period, the baby is warmed at a rate of 0.2 degrees Celsius every 30 minutes, until a temperature of 36 degrees Celsius is reached.

How does cooling therapy work? Basically, the reduction in body temperature reduces cell death in the brain. Because a baby’s brain is very flexible, areas that are undamaged can compensate for those areas that are damaged. Extensive studies that have been done on cooling therapy show that it can prevent cerebral palsy in babies that have experienced asphyxia, or significantly reduce the severity of CP.

The timing of cooling therapy is crucial. Basically, cooling therapy must be started within six hours of injury in order to prevent additional cell death. Therapeutic hypothermia can be very effective in babies with moderately severe injury, but may not be effective in very severe injuries. In addition, further studies are underway to determine who can benefit from this therapy. Currently, it is not known how babies and kids over the age of 18 months can benefit, if at all.

If your baby has suffered from asphyxia during or shortly after birth, your child’s doctor will make an assessment to determine whether he is a viable candidate for therapeutic hypothermia. As a general rule of thumb, babies with mild injury that typically corrects itself, as well as kids with injuries that are older than six hours, are not good candidates for cooling.