What is Birth Injury?

A birth injury is physical harm a newborn may suffer during the birthing process. Birth injuries range from mild to severe. In rare cases, a birth injury may lead to brain damage, which can affect the child's body function. Certain circumstances, including medical errors during delivery, may increase the risk of a birth injury.

Typically, most birth injuries are not serious and range from minor swelling and bruising to bone fractures, which tend to heal completely over time. The most common serious birth injuries that tend to lead to permanent damage are nerve damage and brain damage, which are a rare occurrence. Nerve damage, especially shoulder dystocia or facial paralysis, are manageable birth injuries that typically heal completely over the first few months of a newborn's life. In extreme cases, nerve damage may require physical therapy or surgical intervention. About 10 percent of all birth injuries are permanent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The most serious form of birth injury is brain damage that cannot be reversed, which may lead to long-term paralysis. Brain damage may occur at any point of fetal development, like congenital brain damage, or it can occur as a result of a birth injury, like cerebral palsy. Although in most cases, it is extremely difficult to identify the cause of brain damage, researchers have been able to identify a number of risk factors that may lead to such a serious condition in infants, including oxygen deprivation, poor fetal development, poor monitoring by medical staff during pregnancy or delivery, severe birth injuries, fetal stroke, infections and a variety of medical mistakes that generally occur during the birthing process.

Brain damage that can lead to cerebral palsy is one of the most debilitating birth injuries. Initial symptoms of a brain injury can include: seizures during the first 24-48 hours following birth, weakness and low muscle tone, apnea, difficulty feeding and other symptoms. Long-term effects of brain damage vary according to the individual, but the most common include: developmental delays, lower intellect and language skills, behavioral problems, poor coordination or balance, difficulty hearing and poor vision.

Physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists and other medical staff all play an important role in minimizing the risk of birth injury. Also, accurate monitoring of the fetus during development is significant in reducing the risk of birth injury. As their profession dictates, medical professionals have certain responsibilities in monitoring, identifying and anticipating the risks in order to prepare and take the necessary steps to reduce the chance of a severe birth injury.

Brain damage as a result of negligent care during and after birth has played a role in some cases of serious birth injury. In a large number of birth injury or birth trauma cases, it is the failure of a hospital, physician and/or a nurse to respond to vital signs of fetal distress and perform a timely caesarean section to prevent complications. These cases often require a lifetime of care for the injured child. This is why many birth injury lawyers are committed to helping parents file a birth injury lawsuit and obtain compensation in order to offset the financial costs of providing long-term medical care.

If you believe that medical negligence may be the cause of birth injury of your child, you should consult a birth injury lawyer.