So, the question is what if your baby is blue at birth? This question comes in the context of babies being diagnosed with the traumatic brain injury HIE. Below we will go into more depth as to HIE, but for now, we will focus on what may be a possible reason as to why a baby might be blue in color at birth.
This question can also be framed in the context of signs of a potential brain injury at birth for a newborn. Parents who contact us for a birth injury investigation often report discoloration of their baby.
What Is HIE?
HIE, or hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy is a type of traumatic brain injury that can impact some babies at birth. A simple way to understand HIE is that it is a reduction of oxygenated blood getting to the baby which can lead to a brain injury.
During labor and delivery, one of the most frequent causes of an HIE injury is compression of the baby’s umbilical cord. Cord compression, especially if it happens for too long can reduce, or cut off, oxygenated blood to a baby.
A sudden drop in the baby’s heart rate on the electronic fetal heart monitor might be evidence and notice to medical professionals that the baby might be in trouble.
What If Baby Is Blue At Birth?
If a baby is blue in color at birth it might be a sign of oxygen issues. When there is a cut-off of oxygen sometimes the result will be a change in skin color. Although other medical conditions can lead a baby to suffer a blue color to the skin, when there is oxygen loss, things like seizures might also manifest.
This is why when a baby is blue at birth, along with other signs that can be associated with a traumatic brain injury like HIE, doctors must take steps to either confirm a brain injury or rule it out.
As birth injury attorneys, we always like to get a good description of what the baby looked like at birth. A baby’s color, along with complete APGAR scores can give us a good picture of what was going on at birth for the baby. We have had families not only tell us that their baby was blue in color, but that the baby was floppy and looked dead. This type of detail is critical in understanding not only the HIE diagnosis, but whether medical malpractice is the cause of the baby’s HIE. injury.
Hopefully now you have a better understrading as to some of the issues which are present when dealing the question what if baby is blue at birth? To speak with me further as to my firm helping you find out how this happened to your baby, I invite you to reach out to me at my contact info below so we can perform a birth injury investigation for you and your family. Remember, it does not cost you any money to talk with me initially about your baby’s story.
Marcus B. Boston, Esq.
9701 Apollo Dr. Suite 100
Largo, Maryland 20774
301-850-4832
1-833-4 BABY HELP
