Birth Injuries In Newborns – Here's What New Parents Should Know

As parents prepare to welcome new life into this world, they rely on doctors to ensure their baby's safety during delivery. After all, medical professionals are responsible for giving both the infant and mother the best medical care before and after the delivery process.

No parent wants their child to have a birth injury that'll make their baby's life challenging and complicated.

During pregnancy, part of the care process provided by doctors is performing routine checkups, recommending the best prenatal vitamins, and, most importantly, delivering the baby as safely as possible.

However, sometimes a doctor's negligence causes a baby to suffer a birth injury during or after delivery, which can't be reversed or fixed. The most common examples of childbirth injuries are mentioned below.

Cerebral Palsy. 

Cerebral palsy is a medical condition that affects a baby's ability to move and maintain posture and balance. This disorder usually occurs after, during, or before the delivery process.

However, depending on the severity of the condition, cerebral palsy might even lead to brain disorders or cause total paralysis in severe cases.

That said, there are several causes for a cerebral palsy diagnosis which include low blood flow to the brain, trauma to the head during delivery, maternal infections, and, most importantly, medical negligence.

While there isn't any cure for cerebral palsy, you can manage symptoms and improve your child's quality of life through treatment.

Since cerebral palsy is usually caused due to the medical staff's negligence, hiring a competent birth injury lawyer to hold them accountable is a wise decision.

Erb's Palsy

Erb's palsy is common amongst babies that suffer physical trauma during the delivery process. It usually occurs when the baby's shoulder and arm are stuck inside the mother, and the doctor pulls too hard, causing injuries to the brachial plexus.

Though Erb's Palsy also affects the baby's upper arms, there are various other complications to keep an eye on, especially if the case is severe. If your baby is diagnosed with Erb's Palsy, you can improve your child's quality of life through physical therapy and routine medical checkups.

Infant Bone Fractures. 

Challenging and complicated deliveries typically lead to bone fractures in babies. However, the most common type of bone fracture during childbirth is clavicle bone fracture.

This childbirth injury directly results from the doctor pulling the baby's shoulder aggressively during a complex delivery process.

Fortunately, fractures during childbirth aren't too severe, as most injuries will heal over time by themselves.

Facial Paralysis.

Sometimes, a child may experience severe pressure to the face during the delivery process. This complication will typically result in damage to the child's facial nerves. An infant might experience facial paralysis when the doctor misuses a vacuum pump or forceps during a complex delivery procedure.

Furthermore, babies with facial paralysis will experience a host of other issues, including loss of control in the facial and eye muscles.

That said, temporary facial paralysis does go away within a few weeks after the baby is born, but in severe cases, facial paralysis is permanent.

HIE (Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy).

HIE or Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy usually results from low oxygen and blood flow to the baby's brain and heart. A few issues that might lead to Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy are placental bleeding, placental abruption, prolonged labor, umbilical cord prolapse, etc.

Moreover, the severity of the injuries and issues mentioned above will define HIE's effects on your baby. Typically, Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy can cause problems such as difficulty eating, hearing loss, vision loss, and seizures, to name a few. 

Cephalohematoma.

Newborns suffer from Cephalohematoma when bleeding occurs and pools in the underside of their skull. This type of injury results from medical negligence, which includes improper usage of suction vacuum or forceps.

Moreover, symptoms of Cephalohematoma will start to show up a few hours after delivery, one of which is the presence of a raised bump on the infant's head.

However, this bump poses no danger to the child and will typically disappear after a few weeks or months. However, if it doesn't, it can lead to other health conditions such as hypotension, jaundice, meningitis, and anemia.

Conclusion. 

If your baby was diagnosed with a birth injury, it is understandable that you will have a ton of questions regarding the issue at hand.

What can you do to improve your baby's life quality? How will you pay for all the treatments and equipment your baby will need? And last but not least, what are your options as far as taking legal action is concerned?

In these situations, filing a childbirth injury lawsuit against the negligent party will give you the answers to the questions above; compensation for your doctor's negligence.

After you're compensated for the damages caused to your child, you'll be able to afford the treatments necessary to make your their life easier and more manageable.