What is a birth injury?

Occasionally during the birth process, the baby may suffer a physical injury that is simply the result of being born. This is sometimes called birth trauma or birth injury. Many people who are not a part of the medical community may also refer to them as "birth defects".

What causes birth injury?

A difficult birth or injury to the baby can occur because of the baby's size or the position of the baby during labor and delivery. The woman's pelvis may be too small or vaginal opening may be too small for the passage of the baby, which will in turn put pressure on the baby's head while it's being delivered.

Examples of Birth Injuries, Defects and Trauma: Head and Brain Injury

In most births, the head is the first part to come out, and experiences much of the pressure during the delivery. Swelling of the scalp and bruising are common but not serious and resolve within a few days.

Fracture of one of the bones of the skull may occur. Skull fractures are very rare. Unless the fracture forms an indentation, it will heal fast and generally doesn't need medication or treatment.

Blood vessels breaking within the skull (after a fracture, lets say) may cause the baby to get a less-than-adequate amounts of oxygen, and could cause brain damage. Most infants with bleeding do not have symptoms. Bleeding may also cause your baby to be sluggish, not feed correctly, or have seizures. Bleeding can occur in several places within the skull.

Nerve Injury

Rarely, nerve injuries may occur. Pressure on the facial nerve (a nerver that runs right through the cheek) can result in weakness of the muscles on one side of the face. This generally happens when forceps are used to guide the baby out of the vagina. The nerve damage is noticible when the baby cries and its face doesn't appear symmetrical. Treatment is generally not needed for this type of injury, and the weakness (not appearing symmetrical) usually resolves by 2 to 3 months of age.

Injury to the Skin and Other Organs:

The newborn's skin may show some evidence of minor injury after delivery, especially those areas that receive pressure during contractions or emerge from the birth canal first during delivery. Swelling and bruising may occur around the orbits of the eyes and on the face during face-first deliveries and of the scrotum or labia after breech deliveries. Usually, no treatment is needed.

Finding Birth Injury Lawyers:

If you think for any reason that your baby has been injured during birth, and it's not related to the above reasons...you have every right to contact a birth injury lawyer. Sometimes hospital staff members can accidentally injure a baby without realizing it...make sure your baby is as healthy and happy as possible!