Questions?
When a woman is pregnant, she often hears a lot of advice, opinions, and stories about birth. Some women share beautiful highlights. Others share traumatic experiences.
She might hear differing opinions on what to expect during labor. It can be difficult for a pregnant mother to know what to believe and what is normal. It is easy for misinformation to spread quickly, especially if it involves birth injuries.
As a nurse with a decade of experience on a labor and delivery unit, I want to help dispel some myths about labor, delivery, and birth injuries. So let’s take out the opinions and let’s talk about what’s true and what’s not.
Myth #1: Birth Injuries Are Obvious After Delivery
The truth is that just because a baby looked healthy after birth, it does not mean a birth injury didn’t occur. Some babies don’t show signs of birth injuries until days, weeks, or months later.
Cerebral palsy (CP) is one example of a condition that is caused by injuries that occurred during labor or birth, but is commonly not diagnosed until the child is 1–2 years old.
CP is the result of brain damage that can stem from a variety of labor and delivery complications. It is a movement disorder that can affect balance and coordination and cause muscle stiffness. It is often discovered by parents when there are delays in reaching developmental milestones, such as crawling and sitting up.
Myth #2: Low Oxygen Is the Only Cause of Birth Injuries
The truth is that while low oxygen is a main cause of birth injuries, it is not the only one. There are many birth injuries that have other causes.
Conditions like Erb’s palsy and an intracranial hemorrhage are examples of injuries that can occur from other causes, like incorrect use of forceps or a vacuum during birth.
These delivery assistance tools, when used correctly, can help to deliver a baby safely. But when these tools are used incorrectly, or with too much force, they can cause birth injuries.
Erb’s palsy is caused when there is too much pressure on the shoulders during delivery, damaging the nerves, leading to reduced mobility and sensation in the shoulder and upper arm. Various therapies, or even surgery, may be needed to help heal the injury.
An intracranial hemorrhage is a brain bleed within the skull. When too much pressure is placed on the baby’s head when using forceps to pull the baby out during birth, it can cause the blood vessels to break open, bleeding to occur, and the pressure in the brain can lead to brain damage.
Myth #3: If You Get Tired During Pushing, Your Doctor Can Just Pull Harder to Get the Baby Out
Working in labor and delivery, I have seen mothers ask the doctor, in their weakest and most tired moments, if they can just pull the baby out. But the truth is, pulling on a baby can hurt more than it helps. Excessive or aggressive pulling on a baby, especially too early during the birth, can lead to infant distress or nerve injuries.
If the delivery is slowed because the baby is stuck, and the shoulder is lodged behind the mother’s pelvic bone (shoulder dystocia), pulling on the baby makes the situation worse. It does not quicken the delivery and causes more distress to the baby, increasing the risk for birth injuries.
With HIE, brain damage has occurred, which can lead to developmental delays and intellectual disabilities that can require physical, occupational, and speech therapies throughout their life.
Pulling too hard on a baby can also damage the nerves of the brachial plexus in the neck and shoulder. Brachial plexus nerve injuries can lead to decreased sensation and immobility of the affected arm.
Myth #4: Infant Injuries Are Normal During the Birth Process
The truth is that birth injuries are never a normal, expected part of birth. Mild bruising, swelling, or reddened areas can occur during birth without extra complications to the baby and can occur because birth is often physically challenging.
However, there are many injuries that occur out of negligent medical care that is below the expected standard. Whether the injury is a fracture or a head injury, any damage to an infant should be an alert for an inspection into whether it could have been prevented or if it was caused by careless actions, or lack of necessary action, by the medical team.
Myth #5: You’re Out of Options if You Don’t Discover Your Baby’s Birth Injury Right Away
The last myth that parents can believe is that if their baby was injured during birth and they didn’t realize it until later, then there is nothing they can do about it.
But the truth is that discovering a birth injury later doesn’t necessarily mean you’re out of options. Depending on your state’s laws and the circumstances of the injury, you may still be able to pursue justice and compensation for your child.
However, strict legal deadlines apply, so it’s important to speak with an experienced attorney as soon as possible.
Get Help if Your Child Suffered a Birth Injury
If your child suffered a birth injury, I am so deeply sorry. I want you to know there are people who can help. There are specialized nurses and lawyers who can look back at your child’s birth, review charting, fetal monitoring documentation, newborn records, and medical notes from the delivery.
Allowing them to analyze what may have gone wrong and the medical malpractice that may have occurred can help you hold those who failed you and your child accountable. It can also help you get the financial support you need to pay for the proper therapies and treatments for your child.
Taking the opinions out and focusing on the truths of what can happen during labor and birth is important. Dispelling these myths can help parents make the right decisions for their child.
Get a free, no-obligation case review now or call (800) 914-1562 to learn whether you can pursue a birth injury lawsuit.
