The invention provides a method of treating a premature infant at a statistical risk of sustaining an intraventricular hemorrhage. The method, or therapeutic protocol, can include at least one or more of the following steps: identifying premature infants at a statistical risk of having an intraventricular hemorrhage, collecting umbilical cord blood from the identified premature infant, separating totipotential stem cells (e.g., having the ability to proliferate and differentiate as neural stem cells) from the collected cord blood, storing the separated stem cells, establishing evidence of an intraventricular hemorrhage (preferably prior to Grade III/IV if possible) in the premature infant, and intrathecally administering the autologous cord blood derived stem cells to the premature infant.
