What is a birth injury? Generically, birth injury can be defined as “Birth trauma is any damage to the neonate’s body structure or function due to events during birth. It includes birth asphyxia.” Specifically, when related to medical malpractice, birth injury is an injury “which occur[s] during delivery and is caused by medical negligence…usually, birth injuries occur in situations where a medical professional failed to act or responded inadequately to a complication or medical condition during a birth.” For every 1,000 babies born in the United States each year, six babies incur birth trauma injuries. Birth injuries can range from:
- Scratches or bruises
- Cerebral Palsy– 10,000 babies each year develop Cerebral Palsy
- Erb’s Palsy
- Klumpke’s Palsy
- Brachial Plexus
- Facial paralysis
- Fractures
- Spinal cord damage
- Infections
- Internal bleeding
- Shoulder dystocia
- Infant brain injury
- Hypoxia (oxygen deprivation)
- Caput succedaneum
- Cephalohematoma
- Retinopathy
- Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN)
- Spastic quadriplegia
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