Neonatal Hypoglycemia

Neonatal hypoglycemia is abnormally low blood glucose level (blood sugar) which presents during the first few days of a baby’s life. Glucose is an important nutrient for the brain of newborns, and levels lower than 40mg are considered very serious. Neonatal hypoglycemia affects two of every one thousand births in the United States.

Newborns with the following risk factors are at risk of developing neonatal hypoglycemia:

• Blood infection (sepsis)
• Endocrine disorders, such as low thyroid hormone production (hypothyroidism)
• Inborn errors of metabolism
• Infants born to diabetic mothers
• Infants with difficulty breastfeeding
• Intrauterine growth restriction
• Lack of oxygen shortly after birth
• Mother with diabetes
• Mother with chorioamnionitis or infection around the time of the baby's birth
• Premature birth
• Unusually large or small babies

Symptoms of neonatal hypoglycemia may include:

• Apnea
• Bluish-colored skin (cyanosis)
• Breathing problems
• Coma
• Convulsions
• Decreased muscle tone (hypotonia)
• Grunting
• Irritability
• Listlessness
• Nausea, vomiting
• Pale skin
• Pauses in breathing (apnea)
• Poor feeding
• Rapid breathing
• Problems with maintaining body heat
• Shakiness
• Sweating
• Tremors
• Seizures

If your newborn showed signs of any of the risk factors for neonatal hypoglycemia, he or she should have been tested shortly after birth, and then blood levels tested at hourly intervals. The standard of care does not require hypoglycemia screening of all newborn infants, but when risk factors are present, the pediatrician and staff are required to test for hypoglycemia and treat it if found.

Complications of severe or long term hypoglycemia could result in:

• Brain damage
• Developmental delay
• Heart failure

Infants determined to have hypoglycemia would need to receive:

• Feeding of breast milk or formula within the first few hours after birth, either by bottle or into the stomach via tube (nasogastric lavage).
• A glucose solution intravenously iif the infant is unable to feed by normal measures, or if the blood sugar is very low.

Treatment normally does not exceed a few hours or days at he most. In some rare cases, newborns with severe hypoglycemia who do not respond to the treatments listed may need surgery to remove part of the pancreas to reduce insulin production.

Expectations for infants who are born with neonatal hypoglycemia are generally good. However, in some instances, neonatal hypoglycemia can return in a small percentage of babies after receiving treatment. The condition is most likely to occur when newborns are taken off intravenous feedings before they are actually ready to eat by mouth. Unfortunately, newborns with symptoms of neonatal hypoglycemia are more likely to develop learning problems.

If you feel that your health-care providers failed to follow guidelines and your infant was injured or suffered long term complications as a result of neonatal hypoglycemia, contact the lawyers at Sweeney Law Firm to see if you have a claim for medical malpractice. Remember, there is never a fee unless a recovery is made for you.