Fact Check: Four Common Misconceptions About Birth Injuries
Finding out you’re pregnant can be a life-changing moment. For most expecting parents, everything they do from that point forward is geared towards making the journey as comfortable and smooth for the baby. During gestation, babies are entirely dependent on the mother and are incredibly vulnerable. Taking care of yourself is thus vital to ensure your health and the proper development of your child. That’s why pregnant women will often have to make drastic lifestyle changes to ensure no hiccups in this delicate process. However, despite taking all the precautions, we can encounter some issues during birth. Birth injuries are every parent’s worst dread, and they can be quite distressing. Birth can be an excruciating process for the mother and child both, and, although rare, sometimes complications can occur. However, there are still a lot of myths regarding birth injuries that cause unnecessary panic in expecting parents. Keep reading below if you find yourself a little scared of the process.
All birth injuries occur during birth
When we hear the term’ birth injuries,’ most of us assume it refers to something going wrong during the birthing process. However, ‘birth injuries’ is an umbrella term that refers to a range of complications that can occur before, during, or after birth. Injuries at any of these steps can bring about different complications. There are commonly four types of birth injuries that you may encounter. Suppose your child has a disrupted blood or oxygen flow during childbirth or pregnancy. In that case, they may suffer from HIE, which is the most common cause of cerebral palsy.
Intracranial hemorrhage is yet another birth injury that occurs during pregnancy, and the same applies to brain development abnormalities. The last is when the white matter in the brain dies due to disrupted blood flow. Understanding the differences in these different types of birth injuries and when they occur can help parents prepare better for what’s to come. Furthermore, understanding whether the situation was preventable or non-preventable can help parents better understand whether they need to opt for legal proceedings.
A birth injury claim won’t change what’s already happened
Indeed, a birth injury claim will not undo the damage that has been done. However, it can help mitigate some of the consequences for your child and make it easier for your family to adjust down the road. Although various birth injuries occur during pregnancy and there’s not much we can do to prevent them, a large percentage occurs during delivery, owing to medical negligence.
Birth can be incredibly traumatic for the mother and the child. Some medical practitioners misjudge the seriousness of the situation and fail to treat both equally. Medical negligence can include using too much force on the mother or the child, not monitoring both carefully, and misusing tools. Although the damage from negligence is permanent, a birth injury claim can help ease the journey. Once successfully proven, a birth injury claim can give you access to financial resources to make your child’s life as easy as it can be. If they need any continued medical assistance after birth, the compensation can help you provide them with the best care.
All neurodevelopmental conditions are due to birth injuries
Parents can often be confused about which diseases are caused by medical malpractice and caused by hereditary or chromosomal problems. Chromosomal conditions are much more common than birth injuries, with 1 in 150 babies having a neurodevelopmental condition. These conditions are caused by genetic disruptions, with alterations in chromosomes.
Extra pairs of chromosomes can cause some disorders, such as Down Syndrome. In contrast, others can be caused by missing connections, repetition, or rearrangement. Some common neurodevelopmental conditions include Turner Syndrome, Down Syndrome, Trisomy 13, Klinefelter syndrome, and Edward Syndrome, to name a few. These conditions come in varying severity levels and are vastly different. Most of these conditions are detectable before birth. If you seek treatment early, you can have a better chance of optimizing your child’s quality of life and ensuring they can prosper.
There’s no way to prove medical negligence
Suppose you suspect medical negligence and speak to the doctor responsible about it. In that case, chances are they will be less than eager to encourage you to seek legal help. Your doctor may assure you that there’s no way to prove that the condition is caused by medical negligence. However, medical negligence cases are usually avoidable, and having a legal team on your side can help you prove that.
There are numerous ways you can prove medical negligence for a birth injury and get the compensation you deserve. Monitoring medical records, personal accounts, speaking to other professionals in the room, and monitoring the records of the medical devices can all help you identify medical negligence. Additionally, getting an objective source to assess the injuries can help verify whether they could have been prevented.
Conclusion
Hearing that your child has a birth injury can be a traumatic, confusing experience for parents. Most of us have limited medical knowledge and don’t know how to determine the causes and effects of birth injuries. This guide can give you greater clarity on the matter and help you understand when you need to take legal action and when you don’t. Furthermore, it can help you prepare for a better life ahead of your child.
