Not all birth injury are the same in their intensity and occurrence. Some are inevitable, such as light bruising and scaring.
On the contrary, there are severe ones, including bone damage, brain injuries, nerve damage, fractures, etc.
These injuries are often permanent and occur when a doctor fails to detect changes in the baby and the mother during pregnancy. Other times, negligence of the on-duty medical staff during and after childbirth cause irreparable losses to the baby.
Ideally, avoiding birth injuries is beyond the control of the patients if they happen during or after childbirth. But there is a lot that the parents can still do during the pregnancy, which can help them reduce the occurrence and the impact of the injury.
Here is what you can do to avoid fatal and non-fatal birth injuries to your baby.
- Discuss your situation and risk factors with the doctor
Gather information about all the risk factors, including breech birth, prolonged and difficult labor, extra-large head of the baby, etc., and discuss with your doctor.
If this is not your first prenatal period, discuss any complications you faced during the birth of your previous child. You might have had the issue of obesity, hypertension, or heart issues. Discussing such matters helps the doctor develop your treatment plan accordingly.
The doctor will do everything in their power to prepare you to avoid all the risk factors. But sometimes, your doctors fail to inform you about a possible situation such as the breech positioning of your baby, resulting in Erb’s palsy.
Now, you are eligible to get Compensation from Erb’s palsy lawsuit. This compensation helps with the treatment of your child. Similar is the case with your baby’s brain damage or bone fracture. Your doctor’s negligent handling of your case can affect the child for life.
- Avoid smoking during pregnancy
Even if you have been an ardent smoker before pregnancy, you cannot do so during the pregnancy. You must quit smoking starting from when you plan to have a child.
Giving your body some time before conceiving a baby can clean the system and remove the toxins of tobacco smoke. During that time, you can drink plenty of water, eat food rich in anti-oxidants, and exercise regularly to cleanse your body.
As for the pregnancy period, avoid smoking because it can decrease your baby’s weight, leading to higher chances of a birth injury. The weaker body of your baby lacks the strength to undergo the exertion of labor and childbirth.
- Ask your doctor about events unfolding in the delivery room
When the mother is in the delivery room, enquire from your doctor about what is happening in the delivery room. There is no harm in asking about the baby’s heartbeat, breathing, movement, and issues like the contraction process and dilation of the cervix in the mother.
If there are any complications, the doctor must inform the parents and the family on time. In some cases, the labor becomes so long and complicated that a C-section is the only way. But if doctors fail to make the right decision on time, the result can be a birth injury. And the medical team suffers the consequences of birth injury lawsuits.
On the part of parents, if their doctors advise them to avoid a vaginal birth, they must pay heed to their doctor’s advice. Failure to do so makes them responsible for anything that will happen to their child.
- Attend all the prenatal appointments
A mother goes through a period of multiple ups and downs during pregnancy. Therefore, the parents must contact their doctors and discuss all their conditions.
Some mothers have gastric and digestion issues; others have high blood pressure, gestational diabetes, etc.; this may lead to the baby having problems including intrauterine growth restriction, heart rate abnormalities, etc.
When you attend all the prenatal appointments, your doctor can discover any issues happening inside your body early through tests and scans. Doctors can promptly suggest preventive measures and avoid birth injuries by monitoring any possible issue.
- Detecting the signs of fetal distress in the baby
It is the job of the assigned doctor to monitor any signs of fetal distress. It is a situation in which your baby’s oxygen supply is not enough. Signs of fetal distress include:
- Abnormal amniotic fluid volume
- Decreased fetal movement
- Cramping
- Abnormal biophysical profile
- Excess or less weight of the mother
The doctors should especially look out for these signs during delivery by monitoring the baby’s heart rate. If such an event happens, the medical team must inform the parents immediately. They should also suggest possible interventions to avoid the chances of a potential birth injury.
Conclusion
Birth injuries can affect a child for the rest of their life. Therefore, parents and their medical team must look for any troubling signs during pregnancy and childbirth. If doctors sense the possibility of any birth injury, they must consult the patients and start preventive measures immediately. Similarly, parents must also contact the doctors and inform them about any issues they face.
Hope this article is of help.
