Articles Posted in Birth Injury

When Maryland parents are expecting a baby, there is a lot to look forward to. Most parents enjoy sharing the good news with friends and families, preparing a nursery, and making sure they have everything ready so all is set when a baby comes home. With so much to look forward to, parents may not have considered the possibility that something could go wrong during labor and delivery. A birth injury is more common than a parent might think. 

Sometimes, an injury can be caused while a baby is still in the womb. If a medical professional is not diligent, a problem may go undiagnosed. Examples of this can include a medical professional failing to diagnose a prenatal infection or prescribing a medication that can cause adverse side effects for an unborn child.

More common birth injuries usually occur during the delivery process. Failing to properly monitor the mother during delivery can lead to an infant experiencing oxygen deprivation, which may result in a condition called cerebral palsy. Even improper use of forceps and other delivery tools can lead to serious or permanent injury. Unconventional delivery methods can likewise cause harm to an innocent newborn.

When Maryland parents are expecting a baby, there is much to prepare. As the time to deliver a baby gets closer, parents may have good reason to feel nervous. Birth injuries can affect a child for the entirety of his or her life, and parents can only hope all goes well. Sometimes, birth injuries are not able to be detected right away, but new research may have discovered a way to detect some injuries just hours after birth. 

Some birth injuries like cerebral palsy and epilepsy can be caused by oxygen deprivation when a baby is born. Sometimes, this oxygen deprivation can be caused by a mistake or carelessness on the part of a medical professional. A child that suffers from these conditions may need special treatment and attention and may struggle to reach milestones as he or she grows. These conditions are not always obvious, and it may take weeks or months for symptoms to present themselves. This can leave parents of an oxygen-deprived infant worrying and wondering if legal action should be taken against a medical professional that made a mistake during delivery. 

New research is making headlines internationally. It seems that a blood test in the hours following birth may be able to reveal certain gene sequences that can indicate if an oxygen-deprived child will have to contend with any of these frightening conditions that result from birth injury. The sooner an infant can be diagnosed, the sooner parents and doctors can begin to help an infant receive the special care he or she needs to thrive. 

When Maryland parents are expecting a baby, there is lots to do to prepare for the big day. Some preparations are fun, like choosing a name, decorating the nursery and picking out tiny little clothes. There are also some very important matters to handle before birth, and while bringing home baby is usually a joyous occasion, some parents find themselves dealing with the consequences of a serious birth injury, like cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy is a brain disorder that can affect a person forever. People with this condition struggle with motor skills, and for an infant, the ability to suck may be affected, making feeding difficult. As a child grows, he or she may struggle to balance or even be unable to walk or crawl. 

While cerebral palsy can occur naturally as the brain of the fetus develops, it is often the result of a serious birth injury during the delivery process. If an infant suffers a head injury, is deprived of oxygen or labor is prolonged, the risk increases greatly. Such risk factors are commonly caused by medical malpractice. 

Maryland parents typically expect welcoming a new baby to be an occasion of pure joy, but sometimes, a lot can go wrong during the birth and delivery process. One of the more common birth injury scenarios in the United States is oxygen deprivation. If a baby is born prematurely, oxygen deprivation can occur because a baby’s lungs may not be developed enough to draw the necessary first breaths. But sadly, this situation can also occur due to medical malpractice. 

A newborn that suffers oxygen deprivation is at risk to suffer long term or permanent brain injury. A team of researchers is using cutting-edge technology to learn more about the condition and what may be done to help children suffering from this type of birth injury. In many cases, babies suffering from such an injury are kept in quiet private environments with limited stimuli. The new research suggests that this may actually be counterproductive. 

The researchers used models and other means to replicate a human child that suffered from oxygen deprivation at birth. Some were treated in the conventional manner, with minimal stimuli in a more quiet environment, while others were kept in a scenario with more peers, lights, sounds and interactions. As the models aged, it seems that the ones exposed to more stimulating environments were able to achieve a higher level of brain development, and performed better on tests that gauge motor skills, comprehension and other developmental milestones that can be affected by oxygen deprivation at birth. 

A lot can go wrong with a newborn during the delivery process. Birth injuries are sadly more common than many might suspect. Sometimes, the newborn’s family pursues a medical malpractice claim against the health care professionals and/or the facility that caused the injury. These lawsuits can result in massive verdicts, and now some Maryland hospitals are advocating for legislation that may help them avoid paying such verdicts in the future. 

Some representatives of area hospitals say that when a medical facility is found liable for birth injuries, the resulting monetary judgment can bankrupt the hospital and/or the doctor. It is rumored that some doctors are thinking about leaving the state altogether. There is a push for legislation that would award a victim a lifetime of medical care, rather than a lump sum dollar amount. In the past, some Maryland families have received judgments that amount to millions of dollars. 

If the new legislation becomes law, parents of birth injury victims would still file suit in civil court. If the court were to find in favor of the plaintiff, the verdict would call for a lifetime of free medical care for the injured child. Since monetary judgments currently provide a family with the funds necessary to pay for future medical expenses, parents may be unhappy that an award may now be mostly in the form of medical care from a facility that already injured their child. 

Preparing for the birth of a child can be both stressful and exciting. New parents often form a delivery plan to make the days and hours leading up to a baby’s arrival go as smoothly as possible. Choosing the right Maryland hospital, making sure the car seat is properly installed, and packing all the clothes and things the baby will need can certainly help prevent chaos, but there is no sure way to prevent birth injury

There are many scenarios in which a woman may experience complications when giving birth. If delivery is not going well and a mother, baby or both are in danger, an emergency cesarean delivery may be called for. Though often used as a life-saving procedure, an emergency c-section can be more likely to result in birth injury than a vaginal delivery or planned c-section. 

Researchers have recently been testing a drug that can reduce the medical necessity of such a procedure, but the drug is hardly new. Sildenafil, commonly sold under the brand name Viagra, has been on the market for decades as a sexual enhancement drug for men. Clinical trials have shown that it can increase blood flow to the fetus when a woman is given this drug in the early stages of labor. This is important because a shortness or constriction of blood can create the need for an emergency c-section. More trials are forthcoming to further test the theory. 

The birth of a child is one of the greatest joys that a parent could ever experience. Expecting parents in Maryland often spend months planning for their new baby, like decorating the nursery, buying diapers and even selecting a pediatrician. While parenthood itself can easily throw off some of those plans, having a baby who has suffered a birth injury can derail the plans altogether.

This was the situation that an out-of-state mother found herself in just over five years ago. While she was in labor, fetal monitoring showed abnormalities that were detrimental to her son’s health. However, the medical professionals at the hospital ignored the warning signs for nearly six hours before she finally gave birth. Her son was born with injuries as a result of their failure to act in time.

The mother chose to file a medical malpractice claim, stating that she felt it was important for her son’s voice to be heard. Experts who testified during the case concluded that the little boy would have been born without any injuries if hospital staff had told any of the doctors about the observed abnormalities. If they had been alerted, one of the doctors would have been able to perform a  cesarean section.

When parents are preparing to welcome a new baby into the household, they make the necessary preparations and try to find reliable prenatal care to detect any possible complications. Maryland parents may not be aware that about one in every 200 children suffer serious birth injury in the United States. A recent study aims to shed light on new treatments for these tiny victims. 

One of the most common forms of birth injury is brachial plexus injury. The symptoms of this injury are much like the symptoms of cerebral palsy, with which children can be born. Sadly, such a serious birth injury can lead to a lifetime of suffering and irreparable physical limitations, because muscle contractions associated with the condition cause bones to form improperly, causing worsening pain and immobility over time. 

There is no cure for these serious birth injuries, and most children with such a diagnosis undergo many surgeries and treatments as they grow, and many come to rely on medical equipment like a power chair or lift. Recently, researchers believe they have discovered a new drug that seems to greatly reduce the muscle contractions that gradually cause this damage. Unfortunately, at this time, it has only been tested on mice. Researchers hope this is a breakthrough that will help thousands of babies each year, but it will be some time until studies are complete enough to suggest this new drug for newborns. 

Birth experiences vary from woman to woman and can end in joy or in total devastation. Most parents are prepared in advance should their child need medical intervention immediately after birth and throughout childhood. They have time to prepare themselves and their families. Some Maryland deliveries take a turn for the worse and immediate lifesaving measures must be taken to save the child and/or the mother. Sometimes these traumatic births will lead to a permanent disability that will require medical care for the rest of the child’s life.

A mother of a four-year-old boy in another state is bringing about awareness for a birth injury her son suffered. The little boy suffered a traumatic birth when his shoulder rotated completely during the pushing phase of labor and caused the child to become stuck in the birth canal. The life-long injury resulted in what is called Brachial Plexus Palsy.

Brachial Plexus Palsy can happen during birth or occur from an injury. When the shoulder completely rotates, there is often tendon and nerve damage. This type of damage causes the arm to be weak and grow at a much slower pace, if at all. It often also causes the arm to become paralyzed, which limits the abilities of the child.

Expecting a child is often a wonderful and highly anticipated event for the parents and other family members. Preparations for the new arrival begin to take place almost immediately. Picking out baby names, nursery colors and choosing a doctor to see the family through the pregnancy and safely deliver the baby can be exciting and sometimes overwhelming. For some Maryland parents, labor and delivery can also bring unsettling news that everything is not well with the child. Understandably, new circumstances can present heavy physical and financial challenges, but learning that the child suffered avoidable birth injuries may further distress the family.

A family in another state has recently filed a complaint against the hospital and medical staff who delivered their son almost two years ago. According to the complaint, the complications that presented during labor and delivery should have resulted in a Cesarean section. The claim further states that the physicians underestimated the child’s birth weight and size.

The complications during birth arose from shoulder dystocia. The child has since been diagnosed with right brachial plexus palsy. This diagnosis is permanent, and the family is seeking more than $150,000 in compensatory damages and interest.

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