Despite free maternity services in Kenya, reports has shown that perinatal mortality majorly caused by preterm birth, is still high at a rate of 31.771 deaths per thousand live births.
Pregnancy period is huge and glorious to every mum or couple, it is exiting and yet equally uncertain. Every pregnant woman has got anxiety. The common fears relate to childbirth, the baby’s health, et cetera. With the increase of preterm births across the globe, there is an increase in Intraventricular Hemorrhage (IVH) which largely affect the baby’s health.
Intraventricular Hemorrhage is the bleeding in and around the brain’s ventricles. The ventricles are spaces in the brain filled with cerebral spinal fluid. This type of bleeding can happen in premature babies, usually in the first week after birth.
Early births, that is before 37 weeks in pregnancy, can cause problems like low oxygen levels, changes in blood pressure and breathing difficulties which can damage the fragile vessels making them leak.
Low birth weight , difficult delivery, infection in the baby’s mother and bleeding problems are other causes of IVH. If the bleeding is small, your baby should have little or no brain damage.
Doctors use grades to systemize Intraventricular hemorrhage, grade 1-4.
The grading is based on the amount and location of bleeding in the brain.
Grade 1, bleeding occurs in small area of the ventricles, grade 2, the bleeding occurs inside the ventricles. With grade 1 and 2 IVH can be mild and cause few or no problems.
Grade 3 the ventricles are enlarged by the blood thus more bleeding and can be very serious. Grade 4 is very fatal and it occurs in the brain tissues around the ventricles. More bleeding raises the risk that fluid will build up in the brain which is know as hydrocephalus. The extra fluid can increase pressure in the baby’s brain, causing brain damage and mental and physical problems. 
IVH symptoms may look like other health problems but the most common symptoms are, pauses in breathing, pale or blue colouring of the skin,slow heart rate, anemia and poor feeding.
This condition can lead to Cerebral palsy where talking and walking can be a challenge growing up. When this babies grow up, they might have trouble using their brains to focus.
There is no way to stop the bleeding associated with IVH. But pregnant women who are at a higher risk of delivering early should be given medicines called corticosteroids. This help reduce the baby’s risk for IVH and develop the lungs.
Treatment focuses on watching for signs of fluid buildup, keeping the baby’s blood pressure steady, giving fluids and helping the baby breathe. If the fluid buildup occurs, the baby may have a lumber puncture(thin needle is inserted between the bones of the baby’s lower spine), receives medicine or have a procedure to place a hollow tube, shunt, surgically placed in the brain to help drain cerebrospinal fluid and redirect it to another location in the body where it can be reabsorbed.
All babies born before 30 weeks should have an ultrasound of the head to screen for IVH.Preventing premature births is the best way to control IVH. Take good care of your body, of your mind and visit a health facility in your first trimester. If your baby is comes early, reach out to the NICU team for support.
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