Common Kinds of Birth Injuries That Can Occur During Delivery
Giving birth is considered one of the most rewarding experiences for women, and the joy of becoming a mother is truly profound. Many babies are delivered without incident every day and welcomed into the loving arms of their parents.
Unfortunately, complications can arise during delivery, leading to a variety of birth injuries. Some of these birth injuries may cause a baby to have permanent disabilities or defects for a lifetime.
Understanding Birth Injuries
Birth injuries are any injuries that occur from trauma before, during, or after the delivery of a baby. Some birth injuries may be minor and require minimal treatment before improving. Others are severe and can leave lasting impacts, or even cause death.
When you go to the hospital to have your baby, you are likely thinking about which outfit to dress your new baby in when you get discharged. You probably aren’t even thinking about birth injuries, or worse, going home to plan a funeral for a baby you only barely got to know.
Types of Birth Injuries That Happen During the Delivery Process
Here is a look at the most commonly reported birth injuries that arise when babies are delivered.
Bruising
Bruising during birth is often caused when forceps need to be used to aid in the delivery. This tool can cause bruising on the head or face. In some cases, the bruises are temporary and heal without incident. Other times, these bruises may be permanent. Bruising as well as lacerations can also form with the use of vacuum extraction.
Facial Paralysis
Forceps may also cause facial paralysis if they impact a nerve in the process. When the nerve is bruised, this condition is temporary. However, if the nerve becomes torn, surgery may be necessary to repair the damage.
Anoxia
Anoxia occurs when a baby has hypoxia, or is deprived of enough oxygen. In most instances, the cause is due to the umbilical cord tightly wrapping around the baby’s throat, causing strangulation.
Birth Asphyxia
Birth asphyxia is an injury caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain in the process of childbirth.
Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
HIE is one of the most upsetting birth injuries because much can be done to prevent it from occurring. In short, it is a lack of oxygen and blood supply to the brain, causing brain dysfunction, which can lead to cerebral palsy.
Medical professionals must be on the ball to prevent oxygen deprivation to the fetus before, during, and after delivery. They should be closely monitoring the baby while in the womb and stay alert to recognize and mitigate any of the signs to prevent HIE.
Cerebral Palsy
The disorder known as cerebral palsy affects posture and body movement. It is caused by brain damage that can happen before, during, or in the moments after the birth of the baby. While it can be genetic, environmental factors such as getting a lack of oxygen to the brain during labor and delivery is a known cause.
When it comes to birth injuries, doctors and nurses must be adept in identifying the signs while they monitor the baby. They must also intervene in a timely manner. Failure to act accordingly could mean that a child will have a severe case of this order, which may make them unable to move. This would require a lifetime of medical assistance for breathing, eating, and other basic skills.
Periventricular Leukomalacia (PVL)
PVL involves injury to the brain’s white matter, which is the area that brings information from the brain to all the muscles in the body. It is a greater risk for PVL with prematurely born babies since their brains are not as fully developed as a baby that has been delivered at full term.
This injury can cause the baby to experience developmental delays, seizures, vision and hearing challenges, and may even lead to cerebral palsy.
What Are the Long-Term Effects of Birth Injuries?
When birth injuries happen, some of them are mild and can easily be remedied without lasting impacts. However, many other birth injuries are tremendously serious, and they may require ongoing medical care.
Parents who had healthy metrics for their baby throughout the pregnancy are suddenly left to face the insurmountable costs of specialized medical care due to the disabilities that birth defects can create.
If you have a baby that has these issues that could have been prevented with better prenatal care or delivery, you should find out more about your legal rights. You may be able to recover compensation that will allow you to have the financial support to care for your baby’s needs.
