How do I know if my child has a birth injury? This question is one I often get from parents who have no idea as to why their child is not meeting certain neonatal milestones. There can be many “clues” which can suggest to parents that their child may have suffered a brain and other type of injury at birth.
After reading this Maryland birth injury educational article, and watching the supporting video, you should have a better understanding of some of the ways in which it can be determine if your baby may have suffered an injury at birth. Note, the ways discussed are not exhaustive as to every single way in which it can be determined if your child has suffered a birth injury. Be that as it may, the signs explained are some of the more common ways in which parents can determine whether their child may have suffered a birth injury.
THE LABOR AND DELIVERY IN A BIRTH INJURY CASE…
For some mothers who have a child with a birth brain injury, or some other type of birth injury, the pregnancy will have been uneventful. In other words, nothing out of the ordinary stood out. The mother went to all her prenatal visits and followed all the instructions by the doctor. In her mind, everything was progressing in a normal fashion.
Because the pregnancy seemed normal, with no hiccups, a birth injury throws the family for a loop. Before moving on, I would like to say that many mothers who I talk with seem to blame themselves for the result. When in reality, there was nothing some of these mothers could have possibly done to chance the result. The fault, in some cases, is with the doctors/nurses and the hospital.
HOW DO I KNOW IF MY CHILD HAS A BIRTH INJURY?
Meconium, which is the baby’s stool, is present when the water is broken coupled with other factors, such as problems on the fetal heart monitor (late decelerations, minimal variability, bradycardia, tachycardia, etc.…) can be a sign that the baby was in fetal distress. Fetal distress, not properly diagnosed and treated, can lead to a birth injury. Parents can sometimes tell that an injury has occurred at birth if the baby is blue in color, must be resuscitated, must be taken to the NICU, has suffered seizures, or has had meconium below the vocal cords at delivery. If the previous has occurred, doctors may be on the lookout for whether the baby has suffered fetal hypoxia, or hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), which can lead to a subsequent cerebral palsy diagnosis.
A second way in which a parent may know that their child has suffered a birth injury is if the child gets stuck during a vaginal delivery. In the medical world, this is called shoulder dystocia. Shoulder dystocia is a medical emergency because not only can the baby suffer an injury to the should/arm/hand, but a compressed umbilical cord can also lead to a brain injury, or death.
TALK TO A MARYLAND CEREBRAL PALSY ATTORNEY
How do I know if my child has a birth injury? Hopefully this article has not shed light on some of the ways in which you can begin to ascertain whether your child might have suffered a birth injury. Birth injuries, especially baby brain injuries, can present serious challenges for a child and their family.
To speak with me further regarding what happened with your baby during birth, this is what I invite you to do. Pick up the phone and give me a call. I can be reached at 301-850-4832. I answer Maryland birth injury and medical malpractice questions just like yours all the time and I will be happy to listen to your story.
Marcus B. Boston, Esq.
Boston Law Group, LLC
2 Wisconsin Circle, Suite 700
Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815
1-833-4 BABY HELP
