Every day, hundreds of Washington parents rely on the expertise and professional care of qualified doctors to safely facilitate the labor and delivery process. Unfortunately, sometimes mistakes are made or conditions are not ideal, and an infant may experience trauma and injury at birth. Parents who have a basic knowledge about what constitutes a birth injury may be able to better protect themselves and their children from long-term pain and unnecessary trauma.
Stanford Children’s Health reminds parents that birth injuries can be caused by a variety of factors including the size of the baby, prolonged labor, prematurity, labor trauma and cephalopelvic disproportion. Some of the most common types of birth injuries include the following:
- Bruising
- Subconjunctival hemorrhaging
- Brachial palsy
- Fractures
- Cephalohematoma
- Facial paralysis
According to the Huffington Post, parents who suspect that their infant is suffering from some type of birthing injury should be aware of some important things. These include the following:
- Evidence is crucial: Parents should do everything in their power to collect evidence that supports their suspicion of a birth injury.
- Monitor development: In many cases, parents do not recognize that their child was injured at birth until developmental issues become noticeable. From the start, parents should look for signs that normal development is hampered and creating difficulty learning.
- Injuries are injuries: Even if parents are told that a particular injury is common, will not cause long-term problems or is not as serious as it appears, all birth injuries are injuries and should be carefully investigated.
Parents should be proactive about getting their child the help he or she needs to heal and overcome birth trauma. Parents who get things straightened out before the child turns 18 can potentially receive better compensation than parents who wait too long to take any action.