Childbirth has remained a traumatic experience for almost one-third of mothers. However, in this article, we’re more concerned with the physical features of birth trauma that manifest themselves in the shape of post-birth injuries. These injuries aren’t uncommon in the United States, whereas it’s estimated that one newborn’s injured during birth every twenty minutes! So, what are the consequences of this kind of birth trauma? A person shouldn’t neglect their parental obligation to cater to a child’s special needs after birth injuries. It must be noted that children often experience minor birth injuries that heal themselves after some time. We’re dealing with traumatic delivery-related problems here that may lead to disability in newborns.
Common birth juries and their explanation
How do we define birth injuries? These traumatic problems are injuries sustained by newborns before, during, or after childbirth. These injuries are caused by several reasons, the most vital of them being a healthcare practitioner’s criminal negligence! Therefore, you can bring a lawsuit against a doctor if their carelessness has caused ever-lasting complications for your newborn. However, there’s a difference between congenital disabilities and injuries. It usually develops in the first three months of pregnancy. Our concern’s studying some common problems caused by birth injuries that arise from the newborn being subjected to traumatic conditions (typically) during birth. So, let’s discuss them here:
- Cerebral palsy:-
This condition occurs by brain damage taking place after sustaining a birth injury. So, children with cerebral palsy undergo impaired speech, muscle control problems, and delayed developments. So, what can you do if a negligent doctor has injured your newborn? Here’s a Cerebral Palsy Guide to help parents seek justice for their child’s suffering. Contact a medical malpractice attorney to bring a lawsuit against the guilty doctor. That’s how you can receive a deserving compensation for the kid.
- Facial paralysis:-
When doctors apply excessive pressure to the newborn’s face, it may lead to facial paralysis. Healthcare practitioners often utilize forceps that damage the child’s facial nerves. Such cases make the newborn unable to perform essential functions such as closing an eye. Moreover, the vacuum extraction procedure can also cause partial paralysis among children. Experts state that this problem marks 2 out of 1,000 childbirths. Also, search for Bell’s palsy among children.
- Brachial plexus:-
When the newborn’s neck gets mishandled, they may develop brachial plexus injuries. These birth injuries affect the nerves from the spine to your hands, neck, and shoulder. These issues cause arm/hand numbness, but this condition may heal. However, when these nerves are disengaged entirely from the baby’s spine, this negligence may lead to permanent disability. Thus, parents must take legal action against the healthcare professional responsible for this birth trauma.
- Hemorrhages:-
When bleeding occurs in the baby’s skull, it may cause hemorrhages in newborns. There are two categories of these hemorrhages. The first category takes place in the space surrounding the brain (the eye, for instance). However, the second category takes place inside the brain. While vitamin K deficiency’s associated with neonatal hemorrhages, this condition is also caused by medical negligence. So, contact the lawyer if you’re more than worried.
- HIE:-
This birth injury – hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy – occurs when the baby’s brain doesn’t get enough blood/oxygen, causing brain cells to die quickly. Statistics indicate that HIE accounts for 6-9 percent of all neonatal fatalities. It causes even some injuries such as cerebral palsy. While several newborns don’t suffer from any long-term impact of this condition, others may undergo seizures, impaired vision, and feeding/hearing challenges.
- Newborn jaundice:-
Newborn jaundice’s apparent from the child’s eyes/skin being yellow after delivery. An excess of bilirubin causes it, and a pigment is released when “used” RBCs break down. Your liver filters this pigment. But a newborn’s liver sometimes fails to get rid of the bilirubin, leading to jaundice. However, we have seen sepsis, bacterial infections, and even internal bleeding caused by doctors lead to children getting this disease. Contact your lawyer and file a lawsuit if you think the doctor was guilty.
- Newborn cephalohematoma:-
These birth-related problems occur when bleeding inside the baby’s skull and the blood pools around brain tissues. So, the bleeding leads to swelling, which puts pressure on the newborn’s brain. This condition may cause seizures, depression, and even brain damage. Also, if left untreated, the swelling leads to permanent brain damage. Experts opine that forceps, vacuum extractors, and difficult deliveries are why some babies may face this condition.
- Fractured collarbone:-
Bone-related fractures aren’t unheard of among newborns. A negligent healthcare practitioner may cause your child to suffer from a fractured collarbone. Again, this injury occurs when the doctor exerts excessive pressure on your baby’s body parts in delivery. Experts believe that these injuries may heal in a week or two. However, clavicle fracture’s not any permanent problem and may heal if appropriately treated. Since this injury was avoidable, you can pursue legal means to remedy the situation.
- Spinal injuries:-
Spinal injuries are preventable but not treatable. If the doctor pulls on the spine too hard in delivery, it may damage the newborn’s basic sense. The child may lose their ability to move, feel, and touch. So, parents can bring a lawsuit against the doctor responsible for these injuries. Moreover, doctors using tools in delivery have also led to many newborns suffering from a frail spine. These babies may become unable to respond to painful stimuli, thereby growing vulnerable to accidents in the future.
- Vacuum Extraction:-
We’ve mentioned how many birth injuries are caused by negligent physicians using tools wrongly to deliver your child. Therefore, healthcare practitioners wielding vacuum extractors have also injured children many times! This device attaches itself to the child’s head and, as the mother pushes them outside, the vacuum extractor pulls the baby out of the womb. As you can imagine, this device leads to delivery-related problems in some cases when it damages the child’s skull, nerves, or shoulders.
Conclusion
Childbirth-related challenges have bothered many households in the United States. So, statistics indicate that 7 out of 1,000 newborns suffer from birth injuries. These traumatic childbirths often lead to lifelong complications for the concerned individual, causing parents to bring lawsuits against the medical experts. Birth trauma damages the newborn’s skull/brain, thus deforming the body or limiting its function. Some of the typical results of delivery-caused trauma include Erb’s palsy, cerebral palsy, and spinal injuries. A negligent healthcare professional may cause your child to suffer from HIE, facial paralysis, newborn jaundice/cephalohematoma. So, contact your lawyer now.
