Birth Injury

Sometimes parents are reluctant to ask questions about their child’s possible birth injury. This may be because they are used to trusting and deferring to doctors and medical professionals. It may also be due to the parents not being sure about the extent of their child’s birth injury. Whatever the case may be, it’s important to be able to answer the question: Did my child suffer a birth injury?

Every birth is different, but there may be signs that negligence or an accident occurred during your child’s birthing process. As a parent or grandparent, you need to know if something went wrong during the birth. If you are concerned, it may be with good reason. However, it’s hard to remain objective when it comes to your child’s health and well-being. The dedicated and experienced Charleston birth injury lawyers at James F. Humphreys & Associates, L.C., understand how difficult this situation can be and here to help. Let us help you get the answers you need for your family. Contact us today to schedule a free case consultation.

In a perfect world, every birth would go as planned, and birth injuries would not exist. But sadly, there can be times when parents thought everything was fine during the birth, only to discover later there was an accident or negligence that led to a birth injury.

Birth injuries may be more common in some situations, such as when:

• Labor has gone on for an excessive amount of time
• Labor is more complicated than usual
• The baby is in a breech position (not head first in the birth canal)
• There is a premature birth
• The size or shape of the mother’s anatomy makes delivery more difficult
• Forceps are used to deliver the baby
• Vacuum force is used to deliver the baby
• The mother has health issues
• The baby is delivered by cesarean (C-section)
• When unqualified personal and or physicians perform duties outside of their professional training

Some of the causes of birth injuries include but are not limited to:

• Oxygen deprivation during labor and delivery (perinatal hypoxia)
• Improper medication administration
• Untreated Preeclampsia
• Failure to diagnose and treat a prenatal condition
• Improper labor induction
• Not performing a C-section promptly
• Excessive force during removal
• Premature cord clamping
• Improper use of forceps
• Failure to identify fetal distress before or during birth
• Improper epidural administration
• Improper use of vacuum
• Failure to monitor the fetus
• Failure to perform a C-section
• C-section errors
• Physician error
• Vaginal birth after C-section (VBAC) injuries
• Failure to call a specialist for complex births
• Failure to diagnose gestational diabetes

Often, there are indications of a possible injury immediately after a child’s birth. Although the signs below are not conclusive that a birth injury has occurred, they may signal that something could be wrong. If your baby has exhibited any of these symptoms or has any of these conditions, tell your doctor or care provider immediately.

Sometimes parents may not recognize their child’s birth injury until later on during their development. Some birth injury symptoms may become more evident when a child misses certain developmental milestones or exhibits unusual behaviors.

If your child had not reached the following milestones, it may be a sign that they suffered a birth injury:

• Crawling
• Sitting up on their own at the expected age
• Walking
• Grasping objects
• Feeding themselves
• Dressing themselves
• Talking

A child who has suffered a birth injury may also have severe sleep problems, extreme light sensitivity, be excessively tired, or have pronounced neuromuscular problems during their development.

If you notice any of these signs or symptoms, contact your child’s pediatrician or medical provider immediately to have them assessed for a possible birth injury.