When your newborn baby finally arrives, it’s supposed to be a joyous occasion. Sadly, far too many families must first grapple with injuries their baby sustains during the birthing process.
Birth injuries can be extremely worrisome for new parents. You may be left worried that the injuries will permanently harm your baby, or that they’ll cause other complications. It can be traumatic to find out that an injury happened in the first place, especially when you’ve entrusted a medical team with your baby’s safety.
What causes them?
These injuries can be the result of irregular positioning in the womb or birth canal, a cesarean section, a long or difficult delivery, or a premature delivery. Unfortunately, thousands of preventable birth injuries occur each year, whether from the instruments used to aid in the birthing, carelessness or misjudgments about size, weight, or timing.
The consequences can range from injuries that will heal over time to devastatingly permanent damage and disabilities.
Common types of birth injuries
- Broken or damaged bones, particularly the cranial bones and collarbone
- Bleeding around the skull bone
- Bruising or swelling of the head
- Blood vessel breakage and nerve damage
- Facial nerve damage
Some of these can resolve themselves, but they still cause pain and discomfort, not to mention distress. Other types of injuries are much more serious and require emergency intervention, such as traumatic brain injuries. These include:
- Seizures or cerebral palsy due to prolonged oxygen deprivation to the brain
- Brain hemorrhaging
- Brain ischemia from a lack of oxygen and nutrients
- Infant stroke
Some of the mistakes that lead to these injuries include failure to monitor or detect infections in the mother, neglecting or failing to recognize or treat a prolapsed umbilical cord, failing to carry out a c-section as needed, and improperly using birthing tools.
If your baby was injured during birth, you and even your baby may be entitled to receive compensation. Speak to an attorney to discuss how to create legal accountability and build a case.