Every year, about 28,000 babies in the U.S. are born with a birth injury. These injuries can be mild to severe. If your child experiences an injury at birth, consider these four signs that your doctor botched the delivery procedure.
Increased Activity in the Delivery Room
When the doctors or nurses realize that the newborn has experienced a birth injury, there is likely to be an increase in the level of activity in the delivery room. A neonatal specialist or perinatologist may be called in. Other pediatric specialists may need to care for the child. Instead of getting to hold your child right away and enjoy those first few moments together your child could be whisked away by the hospital staff.
Need for Additional Treatment
In many cases, a child born with a birth injury may need additional treatment beyond what is usually offered for a newborn. If the hospital is not equipped to provide that treatment your baby may be taken by ambulance or helicopter to the nearest children’s hospital where pediatric specialists are available. You could be left alone to recover while your partner goes to the other hospital with your baby. Being left in your room without your baby could be stressful and cause anxiety and depression.
Birth Injuries
Between six and eight out of every 1,000 births involve a birth injury caused by the nurses or doctors in the delivery room, explains the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Professionals, like those at McLaughlin & Lauricella, P.C., know that many children injured at birth will go on to experience lifelong disabilities that are costly on a medical basis and have a drastic impact on the child’s and parents’ quality of life. Some of the most common birth injuries include bone fractures, hematomas, cerebral palsy, and facial paralysis.
Delayed Discharge
A birth injury could also cause a delay in discharge. You might have planned to go home two or three days after delivery, but your child could be stuck in the hospital for days, weeks or even months. If you were also injured during the delivery, you may need additional treatment and have a delayed discharge. The longer period of hospitalization and additional treatments could result in huge medical bills.
If your child had an injury during delivery, you will have to deal with the immediate medical needs. Once your child has had appropriate medical care, you may wish to pursue legal action. A doctor’s error in the delivery of your child could be grounds for a malpractice lawsuit.
Author’s Information: Bio: Rachelle Wilber is a freelance writer living in the San Diego, California area. She graduated from San Diego State University with her Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Media Studies. She tries to find an interest in all topics and themes, which prompts her writing. When she isn’t on her porch writing in the sun, you can find her shopping, at the beach, or at the gym. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
