How Birth Accidents May Occur

Inviting a new little one into the world is supposed to be a joyous occasion and countless times each year it really is. Nonetheless, birth injuries happen and while a variety of them are thought to be minor and will fix automatically in a short time period, requiring little treatment, some injuries may be the result of neglectfulness of the medical doctor or the delivery staff.

Parents of a child with a birth injury tend to be emotionally ruined but should never just accept the health team at its word as to the cause of the damage without looking in to it thoroughly to discover the exact nature of the delivery injury, the cause of the injury and if anything could have been done to prevent the injury. Some of the most common birth accidental injuries include:

- Cuts or bruises

- Head swelling

- Fracture of the collarbone

- Brain injuries

- Paralysis of the brain

Infant babies may have cuts or bruises as the result of passing through the birth channel or due to the use of forceps and other types of extractors used to help the baby in a tough delivery. Normally these will cease to exist in a few days.

A head first delivery puts more pressure than normal on the infant’s brain and can be the explanation of swelling of the brain as a result of excess pressure and also a longer than normal delivery can lead to the baby’s head being bruised around the scalp. Even so, this can also be due to the utilization of tools utilized to help with the labor and delivery throughout a prolonged duration of labor.

When a baby’s head is transferring through the birth channel one way and their arm goes in a contrary direction the nerves running from the neck along the arm can be damaged, referred to as Brachial Plexus or Erb’s Palsy. This particular nerve damage will result in a weakness in that arm and is generally permanent. Tension on the face during a tough delivery may also result in nerve damage to the face resulting in the inability of the baby to voluntarily move muscles in the face.

Cerebral palsy, seizures, mental impairment and loss of sight can be the consequence of too little oxygen during a difficult birth. Nonetheless, it will need to be established if there was any negligence on the part of the delivery doctor or any person in the medical team that is accountable for the birth injury. As soon as fault is decided compensation must be sought for the on-going care that could be needed for a baby.