Ice, Ice Baby

As a newborn, Edward Ives was ‘frozen’ by UK doctors to give him a fighting chance to save his life.

Baby in the hospital

As reported by The Telegraph, Edward Ives was born last August with a fatal heart condition called supra ventricular tachycardia (SVT), a condition that causes the heart to beat dangerously fast.

Edward ‘s little heart was pumping at a rate of over 300 beats per minute at the time of his birth. He was given a five percent chance of survival.

The doctors at University College London Hospital decided to try a pioneering treatment on the newborn in efforts to save his life. Doctors wrapped the baby in a blanket of cold gel so his core temperature dropped from 37 degrees C (98.6 degrees F) to 33.3 degrees C (91.94 degrees F) to slow metabolism and prevent damage to vital organs, essentially ‘freezing’ the baby’s body.

The medical team attempted to raise his temperature after the first two days, but since his heart rate rose they decided to chill him for two more days.

“It was horrible to see him lying there freezing in nothing but a nappy,” said mom Claire Ives, 29. She described her baby’s appearance as “cold to the touch” and said “it looked like he was dead.”


As part of his treatment, Edward also received five shocks from a defibrillator to help regulate his heartbeat.

Luckily Edward’s heartbeat started reaching closer to normal levels by the fourth day and his temperature was gradually increased by one degree every 24 hours.

Edward was able to go home with his parents one month later and is now happily thriving as a six-month-old.

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Tags: medical

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