4 Types of Birth Injuries That Can Result From Malpractice

Birth injury lawyers specialize in helping patients get the compensation their families rightly deserve for medical malpractice cases. One of the most common conditions is cerebral palsy birth trauma, as the U.S. sees about one in 323 children born with the disease.

While a cerebral palsy diagnosis is quite common, there are many different types of birth injuries that can be a direct result of medical malpractice negligence. On average, seven out of every 1,000 babies (28,000 per year) will be born with a birth injury of some kind. Here are four other common types of birth injuries to be aware of.

1. Facial Paralysis: These types of birth injuries typically stem from improper forceps or vacuum extraction of the baby. While this can be a temporary condition that will fix itself naturally over time, it can also be permanent if it’s more serious. This can usually be identified by a droopy face/eye, or general lack of facial control.
2. Brain Injuries: The main culprit behind many infant brain injuries is oxygen deprivation. Oxygen deprivation can occur for a variety of different reasons and depending on the severity and time it takes to catch, the condition will determine how great an affect it can have on a child. Problems with the umbilical cord, leaving a baby in the birth canal for too long, and failing to properly monitor a baby directly after it’s born can all be causes.
3. Cephalohematoma: A significant raised bump on the child’s head is typically an indicator of these types of birth injuries. Many times, equipment used during the birthing process can cause this. The bump is an accumulation of blood on a part of the skull bone. This injury tends to clear up on its own, and usually doesn’t require medical attention, but should be monitored closely as it can lead to more serious conditions such as anemia and hypotension.
4. Perinatal Asphyxia: Another form of oxygen debt can come in the form of perinatal asphyxia. This can be the result of inadequate blood flow to the fetus or newborn, or some other oxygen deficiency in the blood itself. This injury needs to be monitored carefully, as it can lead to permanent neurological damage in some cases.

Birth injuries are never something you want to expect or necessarily think about, but the fact of the matter is that you need to be informed in the unfortunate event something does happen. Knowing these types of birth injuries is a great place to start if you’re an expecting parent.