Birth injuries can be physically apparent, such as bruising and swelling on your baby’s head, face, shoulders, or torso. Often, these are superficial injuries that are not permanent and heal within a few weeks. However, there are more serious birth injuries that can occur shortly before, during, or after delivery that can cause devastating neurological injury such as cerebral palsy and Erb’s palsy.
Cerebral palsy is an injury to the brain that can be caused from a multitude of conditions associated with a lack of oxygen to the baby’s brain. These conditions can occur before, during, or after delivery and can cause irreparable harm and permanent damage to the baby’s brain resulting in different degrees of cognitive, speech, and motor deficits. Some infants may be diagnosed shortly after birth, while other cases may not be apparent until the child is older and not reaching developmental milestones.