The term “birth injury” does not, on its own, refer to any one specific type of injury. It refers to an injury that occurred during labor or delivery. There are a variety of types of birth injuries, and they are not all visible immediately after the baby is born. While some birth injuries may be noticeable right away, such as injuries that affect the nerves of the brachial plexus, other birth injuries do not get discovered until parents begin to notice things about their child that indicate that there may be something amiss.
Delays in reaching developmental milestones are one clue that may lead parents to investigate the possibility that their child was injured at birth. Every child develops at his or her own rate, but there are general and widely accepted guidelines that describe ranges of time within which almost all children do certain things like making eye contact or crawling. Pediatricians are often very helpful in working with parents to determine whether a child has a developmental delay or, in the alternative, whether the child is taking his or her time with a particular milestone. If there is a developmental delay, a pediatrician may be able to investigate possible causes of the delay, including the possibility that the delay is caused by a birth injury.
Seizures, tremors, spasms, or other abnormal body movements, are another thing that can alert parents to the possibility that their child was injured at birth. Not every child who has seizures or abnormal movement was injured at birth, but it is important to discuss them with your child’s pediatrician right away, so that the pediatrician can look into the cause of the seizures or abnormal movements and help your child obtain any necessary treatment.
If you are working with your pediatrician to address an issue with your child’s health and development and you suspect that your child may have a birth injury, it is important to think back to your birth experience and remember as much about it as you can. In particular, it is useful to think about whether risk factors for birth injuries were present during your labor and delivery. Some risk factors include the use of forceps or a vacuum extractor or an emergency cesarean birth. If you had an emergency c-section, try to remember as much as you can about how the decision to operate was made by medical staff and how much time passed between the decision to operate and the time that your surgery began. Any and all information that you are able to remember could help doctors determine whether your child was injured at birth.
Giddens Law Firm, P.A.: Mississippi Birth Injury Attorneys
If your child is exhibiting signs of a birth injury, it is only natural to wonder whether their injury was caused by medical negligence. Some birth injuries will eventually heal, while others may require additional care throughout your child’s lifetime. A birth injury lawsuit could help your family provide the support that your child needs. The Mississippi Birth Injury Attorneys at the Giddens Law Firm, P.A. may be able to help you. Please call us today, at (601) 355-2022.