Contents:
- Medical Video: Gwen's Story: Perinatal Stroke
- What is epilepsy?
- What is the relationship between perinatal stroke and epilepsy?
- What causes stroke when the baby is still in the womb?
- What causes stroke after a newborn?
- How common is epilepsy due to stroke?
Medical Video: Gwen's Story: Perinatal Stroke
Perinatal stroke is a stroke in a baby that occurs between when the baby is still in the womb with 28 weeks gestation, up to 28 days after birth. In some cases, this condition can cause epilepsy in children.
What is epilepsy?
Epilepsy is a brain disease in which a person suffers from a seizure condition that rarely occurs and occurs unexpectedly, but recurs. Most lay people consider seizures when the body vibrates or moves uncontrollably. But the actual seizures can vary, from just staring up blankly without trembling at all, to just trembling temporarily in one particular part of the body without losing consciousness. Epilepsy can be "cryptogenic" (that is, it occurs without an unknown cause), but generally it is caused by abnormalities in the brain's structure (for example, the presence of arterial disorders).
What is the relationship between perinatal stroke and epilepsy?
A permanent injury to the brain caused by a stroke can be a cause of recurrent seizures (for example, epilepsy). In fact, perinatal stroke is considered the second most common cause of perinatal seizures. Perinatal stroke occurs with a frequency of 1 in 4,000 births. About 17% of babies who suffer from perinatal seizures have also had a stroke.
What causes stroke when the baby is still in the womb?
The causes of stroke before birth include:
- Porencephalic cyst: this condition occurs when there is a foreign fluid that fills the cavity in the brain of some babies, which can interfere with blood flow to certain parts of the brain and cause strokes.
- Blood clots: when two or more babies share the same uterus and one of them dies before birth, blood clots form. This blood clot becomes a dead tissue that can be absorbed and flows in the placenta and causes strokes in the unborn baby.
- Spasms of blood vessels that carry blood to the baby's brain: this condition can occur when cocaine or amphetamines are used by the mother during pregnancy
- Heavy bleeding during labor: when large blood volumes are lost during childbirth, the mother's blood pressure can drop so low that there is not enough blood to flow into the brain of the unborn baby, causing ischemic stroke.
What causes stroke after a newborn?
Common causes of stroke after birth are:
- Abnormalities in cardiac anatomy: anatomical abnormalities and heart function can cause the formation of blood clots that can flow to the brain and cause strokes
- Infection of the heart valve (infective endocarditis): when the heart valve is infected by bacteria, small pellets made by these bacteria can migrate to the brain and cause strokes. Heart infections can also cause arrhythmias that cause strokes by increasing blood clot formation.
- Antiphospholipids: parents and other abnormal antibodies that can trigger the formation of blood clots
- Diabetes in parents
- Trauma during childbirth.
- Surgery to correct birth defects in the baby's heart.
How common is epilepsy due to stroke?
About 70% of babies who suffer from perinatal stroke continue with epilepsy in children. However, with proper care and follow-up by a child neurologist, more than 60% of these babies become free of seizure conditions for years.
