3 Common Birth Injuries You Need To Be Aware Of

In most cases, accidental birth injuries among newborns don’t cause any lasting harm to their bodies. However, some complications in childbirth can result in serious problems for the baby.  Sadly, one out of every 1000 births lead to an injury in the delivery room, which might be due to the negligence of the doctor, nurses, and other medical practitioners. This is commonly referred to as medical malpractice. Unfortunately, there are birth injuries that have long-lasting effects to your baby’s life.

So, if you’re having a baby soon, below are the three common birth injuries you need to be aware of:

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a medical condition among newborns that affects brain function, resulting in difficulty in coordinated movement and speaking. There are several forms of this disease, and depending on the type of cerebral palsy your baby has, medical care will also vary. They may need to have surgery or undergo physical therapy to help restore function.

In terms of diagnosis of cerebral palsy as birth injury, your physician will, first, need to determine if your child has a history of cerebral palsy during pregnancy. A mother who had cerebral palsy before she became pregnant will not be able to give birth to her child with cerebral palsy, although it may happen in the future. A father who suffered from this disease during his life may pass it on to his child.

While there are medications that work to control seizures and increase muscle tone, they don’t necessarily cure the disease. Your doctor will likely require a neurosurgeon to perform surgery in order to fully cure the condition.

Depending on the severity of cerebral palsy as birth injury, you may need to see a legal expert who specializes in this area. In addition, you may also need to consult with other lawyers regarding your case. Lawyers in your area may be able to assist you with your claim. For instance, the professionals working at www.pacificmedicallaw.ca are skilled at helping their clients make claims for a variety of different types of birth injuries and conditions caused by medical malpractice. These include cerebral palsy as birth injury.

Erb’s Palsy

Erb’s palsy occurs due to improper posture when the child was born. The result of this abnormal positioning of the body is a spinal cord injury or damage to the nerve roots that supply the muscles. This injury can result in the inability of the body to provide sufficient nutrition for the baby due to the fact that the muscles responsible for sucking will not function properly.

If left untreated, the baby could suffer from paralysis or, in extreme cases, death. This is why it’s important to have someone who has received specialized training while in labor to ensure that all of the mother’s postural habits are changed to ensure proper positioning of the body during delivery.

In a common type of birth injury, an abnormality in the positioning of the bones in the head occurs during labor. This may result in the brain being injured, causing it to be unable to produce sufficient signals for proper reflexes and control of muscles. This is usually caused by improper positioning of the bones by the mother who wasn’t adequately trained during childbirth. As a result, the brain will have fewer nerve endings, and the muscles controlling muscles in the face, neck, and chest will become tense due to the resulting discomfort and pain.

If left untreated, the baby could suffer from asphyxia, a condition wherein oxygen deprivation takes place due to the death of vital organs, such as the lungs.

Oxygen Deprivation

Oxygen deprivation as a birth injury occurs when the newborn isn’t given sufficient amounts of oxygen. If you’re a new parent, then, you probably already know that having a baby can be quite a challenge and, sometimes, even a traumatic experience, and that the most important thing to remember is that oxygen deprivation as a birth injury isn’t uncommon.

Additionally, this type of brain damage happens when the oxygen supply to the brain is severely limited. It can be brought about due to various reasons. The most common is due to trauma to the head that has resulted from an accident or another trauma. The possible effects of this brain damage in babies can include an impaired ability to recognize family members, friends, and even strangers, especially if the child is young. There may also be problems with motor skills and speech development. Sometimes, the child can only sit up and start crawling later on. There might also be problems in sleeping and eating.

Bottom Line

These are the common birth injuries that you should be aware of if you’re a future mother. Regardless of how careful you are, birth injuries and medical malpractice can happen unexpectedly. Therefore, in case your baby will suffer from a birth injury, it’s important that you seek medical attention right away so that the doctor can assess the injury.

Lastly, a claim for compensation can be brought against a doctor who caused a child to suffer from an injury or medical malpractice resulting from their negligence. In such a case, you need to find and choose an experienced medical malpractice lawyer to get a claim filed. An attorney will be able to properly represent your case in court and file the necessary paperwork.