Can a child born with lack of oxygen live a healthy life?

Q: My cousin was born with lack of oxygen, and has been in the hospital for almost a week now. Will this affect her in the long run?

A:The final outcome would depend on how is the condition of the baby, whether baby is active, had convulsions, is feeding or not, how is the neurological examination and if any of above is not normal a CT scan or an MRI may be done to find out if the brain has suffered any significant insult which could leave long term sequelae. However many of babies who are born like these recover rapidly and do well.