Birth injuries (AKA birth trauma) happen more often than you think, according to birth injury lawyers in San Diego, Sigelman Associates. Not all are devastating, mind you, but many can be temporarily debilitating, and it’s important to know what these injuries are and how they occur so you’re prepared to deal with them should they ever arise.
How Does Birth Trauma Happen?
According to Stanford Children’s Health, there are several factors that can make birth injuries more likely. These include the baby being born prematurely, the baby being atypically large, abnormally long delivery times, and if the mother is overweight, among other things. These most often contribute to forms of head trauma, but there are a number of other ways in which newborns can be injured. Let’s discuss which are seen as most likely to occur.
Frequent Birth Injuries
Among the many possible birth injuries, Stanford Children’s Health again identifies seven types of trauma to be the most common: Brachial Palsy, Forceps Marks, Caput succedaneum, Cephalohematoma, Facial Paralysis, Fractures, and Subconjunctival Hemorrhage. Here’s a bit more detail on how they occur and what they might do to a newborn child.
Brachial Palsy
When the nerves that run to the arms and hands are damaged, a child has likely suffered brachial palsy. It happens most often when there is difficulty in delivering a baby’s shoulder, and it can limit a child’s ability to use their arm while limiting their range of motion.
Bruising & Forceps Marks
The mere act of passing through the birth canal can sometimes leave bruises on a newborn’s head. Alternatively, forceps and related means of extracting a child can leave temporary marks, bruises, or lacerations.
Caput Succedaneum
Following a vacuum extraction, children are more likely to develop swelling beneath the scalp. It can also happen when passing through the birth canal normally. Generally, this swelling subsides in a few days.
Cephalohematoma
This occurs when there is bleeding between the skull bone and its fibrous covering. The body will reabsorb the blood, but it can take several months to heal. In some cases, the hematoma may be accompanied by jaundice.
Facial Paralysis
When facial nerves are injured during birth, it can lead to a type of facial paralysis that generally goes away in a few weeks time. The facial nerves are commonly injured due to pressure on the face from forceps or other implements.
Fractures
Sometimes bones are fractured during birth, with the most likely being the collarbone or clavicle. Fractures tend to heal quickly, but will limit a child’s range of motion temporarily.
Subconjunctival Hemorrhage
This refers to bleeding within the eye. This doesn’t lead to damage, however, and generally clears up within a week or so. Mr Adam Rosengard, birth injury attorney in New Jersey says on his blog that a birth injury can be very stressful and scary to families especially if it is severe and takes lifelong care. No one would anticipate that due to negligence, you will witness your child suffer such injuries, it is unfortunate. It is only fair to the parents and the child to get the right compensation to cover all the medical expenses and to cater whatever comes along the way as a result of the injury. An input of an expert birth injury lawyer is significant for this complex process to handle all the legalities and to make sure that you get the maximum settlement you and your child deserve.