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Updated: May 19, 2026

A Piglet Model of Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy
Published on: May 16, 2015
Why the term neonatal encephalopathy should be preferred over neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy
1Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Abstract:
The unresponsiveness of the full-term newborn is sometimes attributed to asphyxia, even when no severe physiologic disturbance occurred during labor and delivery. The controversy about whether to use the name "hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy" or "newborn encephalopathy" has recently flared in publications directed toward pediatricians and neurologists. In this clinic opinion piece, I discuss the importance to obstetricians of this decision and explain why "newborn encephalopathy" should be the default term.
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