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A new technique is doubling the chance of survival for babies who need to be resuscitated at birth, having already help save the lives of nine babies locally.
"It's great for us and our little miracle," said Brian Dewhurst, of his month-old daughter Brooklynn -- weighing a mere two pounds -- saved by the new resuscitation technique after she was born 16 weeks premature.
The traditional resuscitation technique for babies born not breathing was based on practices for adults, where a team of caregivers would coordinate providing three chest compressions for every breath administered.
Between rounds, health care providers would pause before moving on to more drastic measures, including injecting epinephrin -- also known as adrenaline, used to kick-start the heart -- while giving the baby air with a high concentration of oxygen.
The new method -- developed by University of Alberta researchers Po-Yin Cheung and Georg Schmolzer -- sees breathing and chest compressions applied at the same time, and the results have been impressive.
"We feel great that we can impact the lives of newborn babies, that is what our passion is," said Cheung.
This new technique accelerates recovery time by a third -- meaning less oxygen deprivation for the baby and less complications going forward -- encouraging passive breathing by administering air while using the pressure of chest compressions to force air in and out of the lungs more naturally.
In their clinical model -- conducted before testing their theory on babies at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in a randomized trial -- showed the survival rate from this new technique was 90 per cent compared to just 35 per cent with the old style of resuscitation.
"It's great to know that something experimental we tried and that we believe in works and helps babies," said Schmolzer.
Not only providing promising results for patients, the new technique is also a boon for medical professionals who are finding it easier to provide chest compressions and breaths at once, rather than having to coordinate these motions manually, eliminating the risk of errors in the stressful emergency environment.
Researchers hope early positive results will encourage medical professionals from around the globe to participate in a large scale study so that their technique could be implemented in hospitals worldwide, potentially saving the lives of around 150,000 babies every year.
For the Dewhurst family -- Shanua Dewhurst originally gave birth to twins, one of whom did not survive -- the hope is that the new technique will help more families bring their babies home.
"Every day we come in, as soon as she hears our voice her eyes open and it's wonderful," said Shauna, grateful for every moment with her newborn.
Researchers hope to see the new technique become common practice in the next two years and look forward to exploring using the technique all patients in need of resuscitation in the future.
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