Parents place immense trust in doctors, nurses, and hospital staff during labor and delivery. When something goes wrong at birth, the consequences can be devastating and permanent. Birth injuries are a form of medical malpractice that occur when healthcare providers fail to meet the accepted standard of care during pregnancy, labor, or delivery.
In Phoenix, preventable medical errors during childbirth can lead to traumatic brain injuries, cerebral palsy, nerve damage, or oxygen deprivation that alters a child’s life forever. When early warning signs are ignored or dismissed, families may later discover that their child’s condition could have been prevented with proper medical care. In these cases, speaking with a Phoenix medical malpractice lawyer can help parents understand whether medical negligence caused their child’s injuries and what legal options are available.
Recognizing the early signs of a birth injury in a newborn is critical. Prompt diagnosis and intervention can reduce long-term harm and preserve vital medical evidence if a claim against a negligent hospital, doctor, or delivery team becomes necessary.
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Early Signs Your Newborn May Have Experienced a Birth Injury
What Are the Common Signs of Birth Injuries In Newborns?
Newborn behaviors aren’t always well-understood, especially for first-time parents. Infants’ behaviors also vary widely between different babies, even within the same family. However, some significant signs and symptoms of a birth injury in newborns may alert a parent that their child should undergo a complete medical assessment. Common signs of birth injuries in newborns include the following:
- Visible bruising, swelling, abrasions, or red marks
- Fractures
- Low APGAR scores
- Bluish or gray coloring
- Trouble breathing or requiring breathing assistance immediately after birth
- Stiffness or floppiness
- Weak cry
- High-pitched incessant crying
- Arching the back while crying
- Feeding problems
- Weak reflexes
- A limp or hanging arm
- Seizures
- Uneven facial features, such as the inability to open one eye or an infant’s mouth pulling downward on one side
- Excessive fussiness or inability to be soothed
These are the earliest signs of birth injury in newborns. It’s important to note that not all fussy babies have birth injuries; however, excessive crying, especially while arching the back or with stiffness or floppiness, warrants a full medical evaluation to diagnose or rule out a birth injury.
What Are the Most Common Types of Birth Injuries?
Fortunately, birth injuries are relatively uncommon, especially serious, life-altering injuries; however, the statistics aren’t relevant to the parents of a birth-injured child. The most common birth injuries are minor and fully recoverable, such as scrapes or mild bruises from forceps or vacuum-assisted births. Sadly, however, a significant number of children suffer lifelong adverse effects of preventable birth injuries, such as the following:
- Cephalohematoma, or pooling of blood under a child’s scalp
- Intracranial hemorrhage (brain bleeds) or bleeding between the brain and the skull
- Erb’s Palsy, or weakness or paralysis of the shoulder and arm
- Facial nerve paralysis
- Subcutaneous fat necrosis
- Fractures of the collarbone, upper arm, or femur
- Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE, or brain damage from lack of oxygen to the brain during labor and delivery)
- Spinal cord injuries
Cerebral palsy, cognitive deficits, and Erb’s Palsy are among the most serious long-term effects of birth injuries with adverse life-altering impacts on the child and their family.
What are the Causes and Risk Factors of Birth Injuries?
Laboring mothers with gestational diabetes, obesity, small pelvic size, under the age of 17, or those carrying larger-than-average babies face the greatest risk of their child suffering a birth injury during delivery. The most common causes of birth injuries include the following:
- Use of assistive birthing devices, such as forceps or vacuum extractors
- Shoulder dystocia, or a baby’s shoulder becoming lodged below the mother’s pubic bone
- Breech birth or other positioning problems
- Prolonged labor
- Cephalopelvic disproportion (baby’s head is too large for the mother’s pelvis)
- Fetal monitoring errors or inadequate fetal monitoring
- Maternal infections
- Placental abruption (detached placenta)
- Placenta previa (the placenta delivers before the baby or is between the baby and the birth canal
Many of the above conditions can be safely addressed through a C-section delivery or other medical intervention when the medical provider properly diagnoses the condition and performs the appropriate interventions for a safe delivery.
Unfortunately, a significant number of infants suffer birth injuries due to errors or negligence on the part of the provider or nursing staff, resulting in a preventable birth injury. Preventable birth injuries leave the provider or medical facility liable for the lifelong damages suffered by the child and their family.
Families facing these outcomes may need help from a Phoenix birth injury attorney to pursue compensation for ongoing treatment, lost earning capacity, and long-term care costs.