Signs Your Child May Have A Birth Injury

Birth injury refers to any damage or injury that happens to a child prior to, during, or after the delivery process, which causes trauma to the child. Birth injuries are different from defects, which are damages that happen to a fetus in the mother’s womb due to genetic mutations or exposure to toxins. 

A birth injury can be caused by birth asphyxia or oxygen deprivation, excessive pressure on the baby’s head or other body parts, and some other complications. 

Physicians and delivery agents are to do all they can to prevent birth injuries by ensuring that they follow the standards of care. They should monitor the health status of the mother and child, and promptly address any suspected issue that may occur during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. 

Sometimes, however, a birth injury could remain undetected until very late. Having said that, here are the signs that your child may have a birth injury.

1. Signs Showing Immediately After Birth

Some birth injury signs show immediately after the delivery. Some birth injury signs to look out for shortly after the delivery of a baby include:

• Skin color is pale or blue

This is when the skin of the baby grows pale or blue. These colors can be indicative of problems with blood flow; if not quickly taken care of, this can lead to jaundice and other childhood blood disorders.

• Has slow heart rate and breathes slowly

When the breathing of your baby is too slow and remains like that, it could be an indication of a severe condition that may lead to death.

The baby would often lose consciousness and would require resuscitation. When this happens more than once to your baby, it is time to see a medical professional.

• Lethargic or sluggish

Babies usually have high energy, although they sleep a lot, too. However, if your baby is generally slow and sluggish, it might be indicative of underlying problems from a birth injury.

• Doesn’t have appetite

How your baby consumes what they are fed is another way to know if all is well. A baby’s development requires consistent feeding. When your baby is often not interested in food or shows visible signs of discomfort during feeding, it might be indicative of a birth injury.

If you happen to observe any of these signs immediately after delivery, contact a medical professional or the birth injury team to confirm what might be wrong and to know the next action to take.

2. Problems With Developmental Milestones

As your baby grows, developmental progress must happen to your child. If it does not occur, it might be a sign of an injury or two sustained during birth. Here is a list of things to watch out for at each developmental stage.

• 1 Month Old – If your baby does not suckle conveniently during feeding, doesn’t blink when a bright light shines in their eyes, and barely produces any limb movements, you should contact your doctor right away.

• 3 Months Old – At this stage, your baby should be able to respond to deafening noises around, try to grasp or hold objects, try to move the neck and head, and kick those tiny legs. When these things do not happen, it might be an indication that something is wrong.

• 7 Months Old – Babies at this stage should be able to crawl around and attempt to stand. However, if it seems that there is some stiffness to their muscles, they aren’t able to sit without help, look floppy, and cannot roll over, there might be a problem somewhere.

• 1 Year Old – Your baby should at least be able to crawl at this stage. Ideally, they should be standing and walking at this time, too. Your baby should even have attempted to coherently say a one-word syllable. But, if all of these do not happen, your baby may likely be facing a significant problem that requires prompt attention.

3. Nerve Injury Symptoms

This is another category of injury that is caused by damage to the brachial plexus nerves, the nerves controlling movement and sensations in the arm.

The nerves are usually damaged when the child iss pulled too hard while emerging from the birth canal. You should worry about this if your baby is on the heavier side during delivery or the baby came out breeched. If not quickly taken care of, it can result in paralysis of the affected arm.

Signs and symptoms of nerve injury include numbness, weakened grip, odd positioning of the arm, and partial or full lack of movement.

Conclusion

You have to keep in mind that only a physician can determine disorders and disabilities. So, some of the signs listed here may not be serious until your doctor says so. However, you must get help if your child is consistently missing milestones, and showing other signs of birth injuries, such as consistent lack of appetite, sluggish movement, pale colors, and slow and erratic breathing.