Intraventricular Hemorrhage

Signs and Symptoms

Typically, there are no obvious signs that a baby is experiencing bleeding. However, symptoms of intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) may include:

• Apnea and bradycardia, which occurs when a baby stops breathing or has a low heart rate
• Pale or blue coloring, called cyanosis
• Weak suck
• High-pitched cry
• Seizures
• Swelling or bulging of the fontanelles, the soft spots between the bones of the baby's head
• Anemia, or low blood count

Diagnosis

Premature babies who are at an increased risk of developing intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) will be closely monitored and tested for the disease. These babies will usually have an ultrasound of their head within the first three to 10 days of life. The ultrasound will provide an inside view of the brain through the fontanelles, the spaces between the bones of the baby's head. If IVH is detected, it will be graded based on the amount of blood seen in the brain.

Treatment

Other than taking measures to prevent that a baby is born prematurely and treating additional health problems that may worsen a baby's condition and predispose him or her to intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), there is no specific treatment for the condition. Giving mothers medications, called corticosteroids, before delivery has been shown to reduce the risk of IVH in babies.

If the IVH is severe enough so that the ventricles in the brain enlarge and put the surrounding brain at risk for damage, a shunt may be required to drain the excess fluid that has built up in the ventricles. A shunt is placed by a surgical procedure. It drains the excess fluid from the ventricles in the brain under the skin to the abdomen.