Birth Injuries
What Is Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)?
Babies who experience birth injuries often suffer irreversible damage. One of the most detrimental birth injuries that babies can experience is hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, also known as HIE. HIE is a brain injury that newborns can experience during the pregnancy, labor, or postnatal periods. This brain injury is created from limited blood flow and lack…
Read MoreThe Alarming Frequency of Birth Injuries
The birth of a baby should be a joyous occasion for expecting parents, but in many cases, errors made during the labor and delivery process can lead to devastating birth injuries. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that nearly seven in 1,000 children will suffer from a birth injury in their lifetime.…
Read MoreBreech Birth Complications and Birth Injuries
In a typical labor and delivery, a baby is born head first, which allows it to pass through the birth canal without trauma to the skull or limbs. In some more difficult circumstances, however, infants are born in the “breech” position, where the feet and buttocks are set to enter the birth canal first instead.…
Read MoreMothers and Experts Talk About Birth Trauma
A series of articles that came out around Mother’s Day brought a spotlight to the part of having a baby that nobody talks about – birth trauma and its associated post-partum complications. Although everyone is generally aware that childbirth can be a harrowing and painful experience for many women, and that post-partum depression is a…
Read MoreThe Long-Term Effects of Birth Injuries
Even though medical advances and modern technology have made childbirth much safer than it was even decades ago, birth injuries can and do still occur. These injuries can happen right before, during, and after the mother gives birth. Some of these injuries can have long-lasting effects upon the child. About 6 in 1,000 children born…
Read MoreUnderstanding and Diagnosing Neonatal Brain Injuries
When a child suffers brain damage during pregnancy or birth, they can experience lifelong disability and severe injuries. Often, brain and birth injuries occur due to a lack of oxygen to the fetus, causing destruction of brain cells. Brain damage can be severe or mild, sometimes necessitating full-time medical care. Many parents of newborns with…
Read MoreWhat is a Uterine Rupture?
One of the more severe complications that can pose a threat to the health of both the mother and child is a uterine rupture. When this rupture occurs, the oxygen supply to the child is severed, resulting in a critical, time sensitive situation for the child, as well as considerable maternal bleeding that threatens the…
Read MoreCommon Medical Malpractice Claims Involving Shoulder Dystocia
Shoulder dystocia is a childbirth occurrence in which the head of the baby comes out naturally, but the baby’s shoulders become lodged behind the mother’s pelvis. This can occur as a result of the size of the baby shoulders and body, the size of the mother’s pelvis, or the angle at which the baby proceeds…
Read MoreDoctors May Be Responsible for a Birth Injury
The birth process is nothing short of a miracle, and doctors and medical staff are there to ensure the safety of the mother and baby. Babies are especially vulnerable during birth and delivery. Carelessness with medical instruments or perhaps too much force applied to an arm or leg during delivery could result in a lifetime…
Read MoreVacuum and Forceps Assisted Delivery and the Risks of Birth Injury
As a woman goes through the labor and delivery process, at times the baby requires a little help to make it through the birth canal. In fact, about three percent of all vaginal deliveries in the U.S. involve some sort of assistance provided to facilitate delivery. A delivery that is excessively prolonged can prove dangerous…
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