DiscussionWe have investigated miRNA expression in umbilical cord blood of infants with perinatal asphyxia and HIE. Seventy miRNA had altered expression between our control and HIE groups. The most significantly altered miRNA was hsa-miR-374a. The altered expression remained significant after validation using an alternate method of analysis (qRTPCR) and in a larger cohort of infants. To our knowledge, hsa-miR-374a has not previously been linked to hypoxia or to HIE.