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Research Update: Neonatal Therapy Services During Cooling

January 27th, 2026  | News  | Research

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Most babies do not see neonatal therapists until after therapeutic hypothermia. At the 2022 National Association of Neonatal Therapists conference, Dr. Monica Arroyo and Betsy Pilon co-presented about HIE. A robust discussion elevated many issues that therapists face with being able to provide earlier developmentally-appropriate therapies for babies with HIE.

Dr. Monica Arroyo, member of Hope for HIE's Medical Advisory Board, and her co-authors, published findings on therapist and parental perspectives of neonatal therapy services for babies with Neonatal Encephalopathy and Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy.

Hope for HIE's community contributed to the parental perspective, with families who had babies between six and 24 months responding to a survey shared into the community in 2022.

Key Findings:

• Almost 70% of parents reported that therapists first met with them AFTER the MRI, which is typically performed between 5-7 days of life.
• Over 75% reported that therapists did not attend care conferences to discuss imaging or plan of care.
• 63% of parents reported that they wanted the involvement of neonatal therapy earlier in their child's NICU care.
• 67% of neonatal therapists who responded reported their institution didn't have a standardized protocol for babies in therapeutic hypothermia.
• Both parents and therapists felt that written and video educational materials would be valuable to help parents understand developmentally appropriate, family-centered care opportunities.
• More research needs to be done!

What's Next: Neonatal therapies and developmental care during therapeutic hypothermia need to be studied and care guidelines developed. While there is a current advocacy push for holding and feeding during cooling, there is much that needs to be done.

When our community participates in research, the unmet needs are known, and change can happen to improve care and outcomes!

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