What is fetal anoxia primarily known to cause?

Fetal anoxia refers to a condition where a fetus suffers from a lack of oxygen during development, particularly during pregnancy or labor. This condition can have significant and long-lasting effects on the development of the brain. When the brain does not receive adequate oxygen, it can lead to severe neurological damage, which is why mental retardation, now referred to as intellectual disability, is primarily associated with fetal anoxia.

The brain is particularly sensitive to oxygen deprivation, and any significant oxygen shortage can disrupt normal brain development and function. This can ultimately affect cognitive abilities, emotional regulation, and learning capacity, contributing to various degrees of intellectual disability.

While physical disabilities, visual impairments, and hearing loss can also result from different types of prenatal complications or injuries, they are not as directly associated with fetal anoxia specifically as intellectual disability is. Therefore, mental retardation is the most accurate and well-understood consequence of fetal anoxia, highlighting the critical importance of oxygen for healthy fetal brain development.