What is a Perinatal Stroke
If you have been told that your baby has had a stroke, you may be feeling quite shocked and upset and you probably have a lot of questions. Most people are unaware that strokes can happen to babies, though they know of adults who have had a stroke.
A perinatal stroke is a stroke occurring before, during or shortly after birth. It happens in up to 1 in 2500 babies. In the vast majority of cases there is nothing that a parent could have done differently to prevent it from happening. Please do not blame yourself - this is not your fault.
The following video explains what a perinatal stroke is and what the eTIPS approach is all about. You can find out more about this in the pdf on the left of the page, titled "Introduction".
This information is to be used with the eTIPS manual. You can download a digital version here.
What is eTIPS?
eTIPS is an early therapy approach in perinatal stroke, supporting parents to encourage their baby's movements from an early age.
If your baby has had a stroke on the left side of the brain in areas which may affect movement on the RIGHT side of the body, it may help to encourage movement on that RIGHT side from an early age.
Here is a link to a short video we made, which may help explain why:
There is more information about how eTIPS was developed in the reference section.
eTIPS Main Message: RIGHT from the Start!
The overriding principle of the eTIPS approach is to give lots of attention to baby's RIGHT side. You should not completely ignore baby's left side, but give extra encouragement to your baby to become aware of and to move his or her RIGHT side.
The eTIPS pdfs and website videos explain how to do this through positioning, and many forms of interaction including play. Many of the ideas are for activities that form part of everyday life for anyone with a new baby and we hope they will be enjoyed by both you and your baby.
