The birth of a child should be a joyous occasion. Unfortunately, that’s not always how it turns out. That’s because sometimes doctors fail to provide a safe childbirth process. The end result may be a debilitating birth injury such as cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, or brachial plexus palsy.
Birth injuries can occur for a variety of reasons, but they tend to have one thing in common: They could have been prevented with reasonable medical care. Common causes of birth injuries include:
Excessive Force: If a doctor exerts too much force on a newborn baby’s neck or limb when using forceps or during vacuum extraction, it can lead to nerve damage.
Delayed C-Section: Failure to perform a C-section in a timely manner can result in injury or death to the child.
Oxygen Deprivation: Various complications can deprive a newborn of oxygen. If, for example, the umbilical cord wraps around the baby’s neck, it can lead to cognitive delay or brain damage.
Failure to Monitor: If the doctor neglects to monitor the mother and baby’s condition throughout, problems such as placenta previa or a ruptured uterus can occur.
Some birth injuries to babies may not be immediately apparent following delivery – and it is only when a child does not reach an anticipated developmental stage that birth injuries such as cerebral palsy may be diagnosed.
Sometimes doctors fail to provide a safe childbirth process and a mother can suffer a range of injuries such as caesarean scarring, wound infection, episiotomy birth injury, nerve damage, retained surgical instruments etc.
