Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) is defined as a bleeding within the ventricles of the brain, and is a serious complication of preterm birth. Despite significant improvement in perinatal and neonatal care, the incidence of IVH remains constantly high. Extremely preterm infants (born before 28 weeks of pregnancy) are at particularly high risk, and approximately one-third of these newborns develop IVH. 

The diagnosis of IVH is usually established by brain ultrasound examination, which is routinely performed on days 1, 3, 7, and 14 after birth in all preterm infants born before 32 weeks of pregnancy. IVH are graded from I-IV, where III and IV are often referred to as severe IVH with an increased risk of adverse neurodevelopmental outcome. Approx. 20% of extremely preterm infants develop severe cerebral IVH and more than half of these infants survive into childhood.

The presence of IVH, independently of grade, increases the risk for impaired neurodevelopmental and behavioral outcome, but severe IVH constitute the single most important determinant of long-term neurodevelopmental impairment following preterm birth. Currently, there is no available therapy to either prevent or treat IVH in preterm infants.