Is HIE diagnosed at birth? The short answer to the question is yes, and no. An HIE diagnosis can depend on many factors, with the severity of the injury and the facts surrounding birth playing a crucial role in the process. Because HIE is such a rare injury, many parents do not understand many of the issues that doctors explain to them when the brain injury is suspected.
For this article I am going to discuss how doctors get a medical diagnosis in general and how this information can be used with an HIE diagnosis. Please remember that in the context of a baby suffering a traumatic birth injury, not every injury will be the same because not no two children and their experiences are exactly alike.
Is HIE Diagnosed At Birth?
To understand the question is HIE diagnosed at birth, one needs to understand how doctor and medical professionals get to a diagnosis in the first place. Doctors use a technique called a differential diagnosis to get to a medical diagnosis. How a differential diagnosis works is that doctors will review the patient’s history, review symptoms, and order tests to narrow down suspected diagnoses.
In the context of a baby suffering a traumatic brain injury like HIE, there will be certain things that doctors will be reviewing to come to a proper diagnosis. For example, the labor and delivery, was there an emergency C-section needed, are seizures noted immediately, etc… Add to these things, the use of head and brain imaging will also assist in coming to the correct diagnosis.
All the things mentioned above can be used to confirm or rule out the HIE diagnosis. In some cases, an HIE diagnosis might be suspected but other testing and factors might rule out the diagnosis.
If your baby has suffered an HIE injury at birth and you have questions as to what caused the injury, especially after an uneventful pregnancy, I invite you to get your phone and give me a call. It costs nothing to initially speak with me and my office about your baby’s story, as we are happy to speak with you.
Marcus B. Boston, Esq.
9701 Apollo Dr. Suite 100
Largo, Maryland 20774
1-833-4 BABY HELP
