Prevalence, causes, and outcome at 2 years of age of newborn encephalopathy

A commentary on the article by Pierrat et al Regional population based studies of infants who suffer from intrapartum hypoxia are rare, and Pierrat and colleagues are to be congratulated on such a study. As always it is easy to criticise such studies because case definition is so difficult, and, without accurate imaging and detailed case evaluation, it is difficult to be sure that a neonatal encephalopathy is due to hypoxia. The definition of perinatal hypoxia-ischaemia that they have used might be viewed as inclusive and is at variance with the template for intrapartum causation for cerebral palsy, which requires evidence …