Keeping newborns cool: Special blanket offers hope to babies deprived of oxygen
CALGARY — Newborns deprived of oxygen at birth will soon have improved chances of surviving without brain injuries thanks to a portable transportation cooling device in southern Alberta.
Foothills Medical Centre in Calgary is one of the first care facilities in Canada to purchase the device, which is believed to be more reliable in keeping temperatures cool when babies are moved.
Katie Kaminski and Curtis de Vries credit the cooling blanket for the condition of their daughter Tegan, who is now very active at 13 months, after doctors discovered the baby was in trouble when she was born.
“They did an emergency C-section and the doctors realized she wasn’t breathing, she’d lost a lot of her blood. So they initiated the cooling process and we’re really glad they did,” Kaminski said.