Hypoxia
Brain injuries are very often the result of lack of oxygen. In layman's language lack of oxygen is suffocation. All parts of the human body require oxygen and glucose to survive. If a body is deprived of either, permanent damage can result. Injuries from lack of oxygen occur at all stages of life and in many conditions.
Hypoxia in newborns
When an infant is born the doctors and nurses attending to the infant evaluate the health of the infant by giving Apgar scores at one minute of life and at 5 minutes of life. The child is evaluated for color, respiration, tone, heart rate and reflexes. A score of 0, 1 or 2 is given. if, for example, the child's color is normal, color will be scored as 2. If the hands and feet are somewhat blue, the score will be 1. If the color of the child's entire body is blue or dusky, a score of 0 is given. If the child in not receiving enough oxygen its color will be scored as either 1 or 2. In most cases, a child that has poor color at one minute will develop good color as soon as it starts breathing room air. If the child's color does is not normal at birth, the doctor will try to stimulate breathing by gentle spanking or giving wiffs of oxygen. If the color still does not become normal it is a medical emergency and oxygen must be given by mask to assure more effective oxygenation. If the color still does not become normal more a tube must be put into the child's windpipe and attached to a machine that forces oxygen into the child's lungs.