Hypoglycaemia – a condition where the sugar levels in the blood dip below 30/dL in the first 24 hours of life and below 45 mg/dL thereafter – affects between one and three babies per 1,000 live births.
Since glucose is needed for both brain and body development, low levels may have a long-term neurological impact on children, including brain damage, and some research even suggests that severe hypoglycaemia may impair cardiovascular function, explains medical news website Medscape.
There is a new study that offers hope for those who suffer from hypoglycaemia however. According to research published in the American journal ‘Jama’, in the long term, by age 9 to 10, there was little difference in the academic scores of those who had suffered from the condition as infants and those who had not.
"Rich pre-school and school experiences may help a child's brain to re-organise and improve their academic abilities up to the developmental milestones of their peers," Ben Thompson, a professor from the School of Optometry and Vision Science at Waterloo, CEO of the Centre for Eye and Vision Research in Hong Kong, and part of the team working on the research, was quoted as saying by Indian news agency ANI.
The researchers had followed 480 children born at risk of neonatal hypoglycaemia, testing them on neurodevelopment at age two and four and a half, and finally at 9 and 10. For the assessment, the children were gauged in five areas: academic achievement, executive function, visual-motor function, psychosocial adaptation and general health.
The research team, was quoted by ANI as saying, the bounce back in neuro-cognitive function could be because of brain-plasticity -- the brain's ability to adapt, change and mature as a result of experience.
Wondering what causes hypoglycaemia in infants?
Dr Anuradha Ajesh, Specialist – Paediatrics at Bareen International Hospital - MBZ City, lists the following influencers:
- Prematurity,
- Maternal diabetes,
- Hypothermia,
- Hypoxia (low oxygen levels in blood),
- Maternal glucose infusion during labour, and
- Intrauterine Growth Restriction.
What are the symptoms of hypoglycaemia in a new-born baby?
Signs of low blood sugar may not be easy to see in new-born babies, explains US-based University of Rochester Medical Centre on its website. The most common signs include:
- Shakiness
- Blue colour to skin and lips (cyanosis) or pallor
- Stopping breathing (apnea) or fast breathing
- Low body temperature (hypothermia)
- Floppy muscles (poor muscle tone)
- Not interested in feeding
- Lack of movement and energy (lethargy)
- Seizures
- Weak or high-pitched cry
What’s the treatment?
Dr Ajesh explains that early feeding after birth decreases the incidence of hypoglycaemia. The treatment is a glucose infusion.
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