Birth Injuries Explained And What You Can Do For Your Baby

It can feel like a nightmare finding out that your newborn baby has been injured during birth, especially if it was caused by negligence on the part of the maternity team. An experience like this can be traumatising for you and your partner, causing you to wonder whether you could have prevented this issue and run through different scenarios in your head.

mum and baby

But you shouldn't dwell on these things, as the chances are, you couldn't have predicted or prevented a problem like this. Instead, remember that there are many ways to deal with a situation like this. In many cases, injuries like this are minor and are only temporary.

Types Of Birth Injuries

Many types of different birth injuries can happen, and these range from minor aesthetic injuries to severely debilitating or life-altering ones. Remember that these occur very rarely as your medical team will be well-trained and conscious of your baby's delicate nature. Bruises and swelling are the most common, yet minor, injuries that your baby can receive. It's important to get to know your baby properly and understand what is or isn't a concern.

These bruises can simply be caused by the pressure and resistance that is put on your baby during birth, or they could be caused by doctors using slightly too much force in the process. Often, when a doctor is responsible for a birth injury, it will be from making the wrong call or deliberating for too long on what course of action to take. This may lead to more serious problems like your baby receiving a lack of oxygen or experiencing a fracture or nerve damage after becoming stuck.

Injury Claims Explained

When severe injuries have taken place that resulted from suspected negligence of your medical team, this can be devastating for everyone involved. While it may be traumatic for the doctors and nurses, whether they were responsible or not, it's much worse for you as a parent. You will be able to make a birth injury claim that can somewhat help you manage the grief and trauma caused by the severe injury of your baby.

While it's hard to know exactly how long settlements for birth injury claims can take, it can be worthwhile pursuing a claim as soon as possible so that you know that the process for that extra support is underway. A successful claim can help you find the best possible treatment for your baby, allowing you to pursue private, specialist healthcare if required.

How Are These Injuries Treated?

It entirely depends on the injury, but many will be treated as soon as possible in the hospital. Certain things like bruising cannot be treated and simply require observation to ensure that there is no more serious damage related to the bruise. This type of injury will pass over time. For breaks and fractures, the limb in question may require surgery or to be restrained to prevent your baby from hurting itself by moving it.

However, certain injuries such as severe nerve damage or paralysis such as Erb's Palsy will require long-term, specialist care. You will be referred to a specialist that will be able to handle this. These specialists will be able to spend as much time as required to ensure that your baby is as healthy as possible and that you get all the assistance you need to take care of them at home.

1 comment

  1. I was talking to a friend the other day and she was telling me about her daughters eperience, luckily the baby is ok

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