The day a child is born is often one of the most special days of a person’s life. This joyful sentiment can be dampened however when trauma during the birth results in injuries to a baby. These injuries can impact the life of a baby and his or her parents for the rest of his or her life. In other situations it can lead to death.
Birth trauma occurs when a baby is injured as a result of actions such as traction or compression. While these injuries can occur in a variety of situations, there are certain risk factors that when present may make it more likely that such an injury will occur.
The first is when the baby is delivered vaginally, but is breach. Second, an excessive or abnormal use of traction during the delivery is a risk. Next, the use of instruments such as vacuum or forceps poses a higher risk of a birth injury occurring. Finally, the likelihood of a birth injury occurring rises when a baby is considered large for his or her gestation date.
The recognition of these factors can help to avoid birth trauma injuries. One statistic indicates that half of the potential injuries could be prevented by identifying the risks.
When a child survives a birth injury medical treatment may be a part of his or her life forever. This can be expensive and some parents may be unsure how the bills will be covered. When a doctor or nurse is to blame for the injury a good option might be to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against the medical providers who were involved in the delivery of the baby.
Source: Medscape, “Birth Trauma,” Accessed Oct. 1, 2014