The time leading up to childbirth and the act itself can be incredibly stressful. But the moment after is supposed to be one of the happiest times of your life. Finding out that you have a healthy baby and hearing the first cries from those little lungs should be a relief to all that stress. Why would you assume that there are any issues after you receive your little bundle of joy?
It can be scary to know that sometimes there are birth injuries that do not show up immediately. Whether it is a physical trauma to the head or a lack of oxygen during birth, there can be serious consequences that do not show up instantly.
How will I know?
Important stages for tracking a child’s development, such as crawling or eating on their own, can be clearly tied to certain ages. The most obvious sign of developmental delays is missing these milestones. If your child is developing more slowly than projected, or not at all, there could be a medical reason that you cannot see.
Besides those stages, certain behaviors can also be signs of brain injury. Your baby could be suffering from headaches or weak limbs, but such afflictions can be hard to identify in an infant who can’t communicate the problem. These and more obvious symptoms—such as loss of consciousness, sleeping issues or seizures—could be signs of a traumatic brain injury that may have occurred during birth.
What can I do?
Depending on the severity of the injury and the symptoms being displayed, there are a wide range of treatment options. Certain physical issues might be lessened—if not eliminated—with surgery, but cognitive disabilities cannot be cured. The most important first step is to have a doctor properly determine what the issue is and what caused it, then discuss whether there are treatment options that can fix or alleviate the problem.
Birth injuries are more common than you might expect. If a mistake during delivery led to injuries to you or your baby, it’s important to seek the compensation you deserve.