Some birth injuries are treated by a team of medical professionals and both the child and mother are fine soon after the injury. In the unfortunate scenario where the birth injury cannot be easily treated and the child does not heal immediately, the child could endure life-altering consequences. Below are some of the lasting effects of birth injuries.
BONE FRACTURES
Several circumstances could lead a baby to suffer from fractured bones during birth. If the baby is in breech position, the doctor may use unreasonable force to try to extract the baby from the birth canal. Sometimes the doctor will use forceps or other instruments that can break the baby’s bones. Finally, the improper administration of Pitocin (a medicine used to induce labor) could also cause bone fractures because it can overstimulate the uterus and cause contractions that are too long or too powerful. These contractions can harm the baby and cause bone fractures as the baby travels through the birth canal.
Common parts of the baby’s body that experience fractures include clavicle (collarbone), femur (thigh bone), humerus (long bone in the arm), neck, spine, and skull.
Sometimes a baby’s broken bones can heal easily with no negative long-term consequences. But some bone fractures, particularly those to the neck and back, can have lifelong complications. These kinds of serious injuries could lead to:
- permanent disfigurement
- lifelong pain
- death
BRACHIAL PLEXUS/ERB’S PALSY
The brachial plexus is a series of nerves near the neck that provide movement and feeling to the shoulder, arm, and hand. Erb’s palsy describes the weakness and loss of motion in these body parts, which is caused by injury to the brachial plexus. When this group of nerves gets injured, the baby’s shoulder, arm, and hand can become completely paralyzed. Erb’s palsy is the most common type of brachial plexus palsy. This physical injury can result from deliveries with a large baby or where the baby was in breech position. The injury can also result from a prolonged or delayed labor — or when the person assisting the delivery used excessive force in pulling the baby from the birth canal.
In many cases, the group of nerves never heals and thus the child will have reduced or non-existent control and movement of the arm, shoulder, and hand. This injury could lead to:
- decreased strength and stamina
- abnormal movement
- poor functioning of the joints
- muscular atrophy
- impaired growth of bones
- osteoarthritis
- limb length discrepancy
- impaired balance and coordination
OXYGEN DEPRIVATION/CEREBRAL PALSY
The brain is one of the most delicate organs during childbirth. It is also the most important organ in a person’s body because it controls the bodily functions as well as the cognitive processing. Thus, birth injuries resulting in brain damage can be the most devastating of any birth injury. There are a variety of brain injuries including hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE or, also, perinatal asphyxia), brain bleeds (hemorrhages or hematomas), periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), kernicterus, cerebral palsy, caput succedaneum, and hydrocephalus. Many of these are caused by hypoxia or a lack of oxygen in the blood.
That brain damage from lack of oxygen can result in cerebral palsy, which impedes a person’s ability to perform cognitively, control bodily functions, control voluntary movements, maintain balance and to move. The nomenclature derives from cerebral (having to do with the brain) and palsy (weakness or problems with muscles).
Some of the lasting effects of cerebral palsy include:
- impaired motor function (fine and gross motor skills)
- misaligned posture
- muscle spasticity
- muscle rigidity
- imbalance
- poor coordination
- impaired speech
- difficulty communicating
- cognitive impairments
- chronic pain
- psychosocial challenges
- emotional challenges, including anxiety and depression
CARE AND TREATMENT
The birth injuries listed above range in severity, but most of them require lifelong care and treatment. In fact, there is often a team of multidisciplinary doctors who have to be involved in the child’s care. There are frequent hospital treatments, inpatient rehabilitation, outpatient rehabilitation, physical therapy, in-home nurse visits, 24-hour care and monitoring, and/or lifelong institutionalization. And all of this can negatively impact the child’s life.
And not only has the child’s life been affected, the entire family’s life has been altered. A family that once enjoyed frequent road trips or weekend sports games or nature hikes together must change course. The sibling of the child who was injured at birth may suffer from lack of attention from her parents. And the parents now have to change their work and personal schedules to coordinate all of the needs of the child, including transportation to and from appointments, school accommodations, and other logistics.
EMOTIONAL DISTRESS
The physical toll on the child’s body and the logistical toll on the family are significant. What is additionally important to note is the emotional distress the child and family suffer as the result of a birth injury. The child might be bullied or might feel excluded from physical activities his friends can do. The child might feel embarrassed by a physical deformity or by a speech impediment. The parents of the child suffer emotional losses as well: the loss of the hopes and dreams the parents had for a care-free future for their child, the stress on the family relationships (parent-child, spouse-spouse, sibling-sibling), and the sadness and empathy the parents feel for the child.
BIRTH INJURY LAWYERS
A birth injury lawyer in Philadelphia will help you through this difficult time. They will put you in touch with the appropriate medical and rehabilitative professionals who will help your child adjust to life with a serious injury. A Philadelphia birth injury attorney will help you get compensated for the terrible injuries your family is suffering.
Contact a birth trauma lawyer in Philadelphia as soon as you can so that they can help you pursue your birth-related medical malpractice case in Philadelphia. If you are ready to have the experienced birth trauma attorneys at VSCP LAW fight to get you compensated for your child’s birth injury, contact them today.
