Expecting mothers entrust the safe delivery of their babies to their doctors. Under normal circumstances, there shouldn’t be an issue with this. After all, physicians go through years of training to prepare for these very moments. However, doctors or their assistants make mistakes, and these errors could lead to serious injuries to the baby or the mother.
In such cases, mothers can sue their attending physicians and ask for compensation. To succeed, they should ask the help of competent medical malpractice lawyers such as those from Tinker Law Firm. However, winning this type of case doesn’t mean that the birth injury and its consequences go away with the payment. There are several long-term ailments that can arise from birth injuries. In this article we shed light on some of them.
Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy is a movement or posture impairment. Specifically, patients with this condition find it hard or even impossible to control certain muscle groups. Oftentimes, their limbs or overall postures are distorted, making it impossible for some of them to even stand. While non-progressive, cerebral palsy is incurable.
A case of cerebral palsy might be due to negligence or injuries inflicted on the baby during delivery. Examples of malpractice are the improper use of forceps and other delivery aids and even the failure to perform a cesarean procedure when the situation calls for it. These errors may disrupt the flow of blood and oxygen in the baby’s body. Such a disruption can lead to irreversible damage in the brain, particularly to those parts that have something to do with movement and physical development.
Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy
Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy or HIE is a medical condition that is caused by a sustained disruption of the flow of oxygenated blood to the baby’s brain. This manifests in several ways, including but not limited to limpness, multiple organ problems, and abnormal reflexes. In severe cases, the baby can fall into a coma right after delivery.
Medical negligence or malpractice is among the leading causes of HIE. Forcep and vacuum errors, delays in delivery (normal or cesarean), and even unintentional trauma on the baby as it is being pulled from the birth canal are just some of the actual medical malpractice that can lead to this condition.
Periventricular Leukomalacia
When a case of HIE is not immediately detected, stopped, or treated, the case can worsen into periventricular leukomalacia or PVL, which is characterized by a serious damage to the baby’s brain’s white matter around the ventricles. While PVL can further escalate into cerebral palsy, this is not always the case. Some babies who suffer from this condition have learning difficulties, suffer from seizures, and are plagued with visual and hearing deficits.
While babies are ‘built’ to withstand certain pressures from the external world, we should not forget that they are still in their most fragile state at the time of delivery. Pregnant women need to be mindful of their health to ensure a safe delivery. Other people, especially medical practitioners who take charge of deliveries, should exercise extra caution to avoid birth injuries that can regretfully lead to irreversible damage.
