The Impact of Birth Injuries on Long-Term Child Development

When you find out that your baby has sustained a birth injury, your immediate worries are focused on the present: What treatment will your baby require, and can you get it from a facility that won’t make another medical error? These concerns are perfectly valid since ensuring your infant gets the treatment they need should be your priority.  It is, however, also crucial to take the future into account. Birth injuries often have a multitude of long-term impacts and, over the course of your child’s life, can be extremely costly. It is not uncommon for the medical bills of aggrieved families to extend into the hundred-thousand range, and have numerous long-term non-monetary repercussions as well. 

How Do Birth Injuries Happen?

Birth injuries can range from mild to severe and are typically the result of medical negligence. Some of the most common causes of birth injuries in the United States include:

• Delayed response to fetal distress
• Delayed C-section or failing to order a C-section when needed
• Excessive administration of Pitocin leading to fetal distress and excessive uterine activity
• Failing to treat or diagnose an infection
• Incorrect or unnecessary use of a vacuum extractor or forceps during delivery
• Failing to monitor fetal oxygen levels
• Failing to identify or respond to placental abruption  
• Failing to identify or respond to uterine rupture
• Mismanaged labor
• Shoulder dystocia  
• Umbilical cord entrapment  

What Are the Long-Term Impacts of Birth Injuries Caused By Medical Errors?  

Every birth injury is different and, as such, each will have different short and long-term effects. So, from a medical standpoint, knowing what the long-term effects of your baby’s birth injury are will necessitate a thorough screening and diagnosis as well as dutiful attention paid to how your baby’s condition develops as time passes. 

That being said, many birth injuries, despite their distinctions, present comparable long-term financial, psychological, and physical effects. Some common long-term impacts of birth injuries are:

Delays in Development

Many birth injuries result in developmental delays. Physical trauma and oxygen deprivation during the birthing process can hinder a child’s early-stage development, which will most likely have compounding consequences that lead to greater impacts as they grow. 

Cognitive Issues

A lack of oxygen and other problems during labor and delivery can lead to cognitive disabilities. Kernicterus, Erb’s palsy, and cerebral palsy are all examples of conditions generated by birth trauma that could have permanent implications for injured children as well as their families. 

Physical Problems

Excessive force during the birthing process, shoulder dystocia, palsy, and other medical conditions normally arising from birth injuries can also cause lifelong physical handicaps, which could have a huge impact on a child’s quality of life at every developmental stage and on into adulthood. 

Loss of Society and Companionship

Sadly, it is not uncommon for birth injuries to lead to a loss of society and companionship. Unfortunately, a lot of children who experience traumatic birth injuries are unable to forge friendships or form bonds with their siblings, parents, and other caregivers or family members to the same degree as those whose births were not traumatic. 

Decreased Quality of Life 

Loss of society and companionship, physical and cognitive disabilities, and developmental delays can also lead to a decreased quality of life. For most parents, realizing that their child won’t ever be able to live and enjoy their life to its greatest potential is one of the more heartbreaking aspects of the injury. 

Decreased Life Expectancy 

The tragic consequence of a shortened life expectancy accompanies many birth injuries. Although each prognosis will vary, many of the medical conditions that are born of birth injuries will significantly clip the afflicted’s life expectancy. 

Significant Expenses 

As mentioned previously, birth injuries often force families to find a way to manage hefty, long-term monetary costs. In addition to medical bills, there could also be bills for prescription drugs, medical appliances, in-home carers, tutors, and numerous other support services, all of which can leave families facing expenses that far outweigh what they can reasonably afford. 

Do Birth Injuries Have Any Long-Term Effects on the Parents?  

In addition to the financial aspects, parents often experience other long-term impacts associated with their baby’s birth injury. According to research done in the United Kingdom by the Birth Trauma Association, parents often experience:

• Nightmares and flashbacks
• Avoiding anything that puts them in mind of their child’s trauma, such as joining playgroups and talking to other new mums and dads
• Constantly feeling jumpy, irritable, and alert
• Experiencing depression
• Experiencing feelings of self-doubt, blame, and guilt 

These symptoms are identified as postnatal post-traumatic stress disorder, which, according to the BTA, is both entirely normal and wholly involuntary. This means that, as the parent of a child with a birth injury, there is not much you can do to sidestep these feelings, but there is help available, including collecting compensation via a medical malpractice lawsuit.  

What Forms of Financial Compensation Are Available for Birth Injuries?

If your child’s birth injury was the result of medical negligence, you could be entitled to damages. An experienced Dallas birth injury lawyer can help you identify all liable parties and determine what forms of financial compensation you may be entitled to. Potential damages may include:

• Medical bills
• Pain and suffering
• Lost earnings
• Mental trauma
• Cost of in-home care and special education
• In rare cases, punitive damages may also be available

We Help Families Affected By Birth Injuries

Birth injuries typically have far-reaching impacts that affect not only the child but also the rest of the family, who must provide for and care for them. If you feel that your baby’s birth injury was the result of medical malpractice, you need to seek legal guidance from an attorney who specializes not just in medical malpractice cases but in birth injury cases as well to ensure that your family receives justice and the compensation it deserves.  If you are thinking about filing a birth injury medical malpractice claim, consult with a Dallas birth injury lawyers at Rasansky Law Firm by calling us at (214) 651-6100. We offer a free initial consultation and can advise you on how to best proceed with your birth injury case.