Intracranial hemorrhage in full-term infants following vaginal delivery in a Japanese perinatal center

eonatal intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) is observed less frequently in full-term infants compared to preterm infants. However, the ICH in full-term infants has characteristics different from those in preterm infants. It has been suggested that the ICH in full-term infants is closely related to mechanical damage such as birth injury and perinatal hypoxic events, while in preterm infants they are associated with anatomical and functional immaturity in cerebral blood vessels. Furthermore, the anatomical locations of hemorrhage are different between full-term and preterm infants; and subdural or subarachnoidal hemorrhage is more frequent in full-term infants. Therefore, we focused on the clinical course of 8 cases of ICH among 6,600 term vaginal deliveries in Kitasato University Hospital as a representative Japanese perinatal center to elucidate clinical characteristics of ICH in full-term infants. Original Contribution Kitasato Med J 2011; 41: 123-126