In the labor and delivery room there are moments of great joy, anxiety, hope, and relief. The last thing any parent wants to think is that something went wrong with their child’s birth. Sadly, there are infants who are born with a serious medical problem or who suffer a birth injury – these issues are apparent immediately. For other families, it isn’t known that a child has suffered birth trauma until months or even years later.
Recognizing Brain Damage in a Child
Your child’s pediatrician measures growth and development at each of your baby’s appointments. The child’s unique growth is evaluated and their personal development is compared to the average growth at each age range. Children grow rapidly, but they also grow at different paces. This ebb and flow of growth is normal and most kids catch up to their peers eventually. Some developmental delays, however, are caused by birth trauma, particularly brain damage.
Brain damage can have specific symptoms, but it’s sometimes hard to know if your infant is doing something out of the ordinary. The diagnosis of learning disabilities is often the time when birth trauma becomes obvious. But brain damage can present in different ways, including:
- Cognitively and intellectually. Memory problems, difficulty concentrating, trouble grasping basic concepts, slow thinking.
- Emotionally. Mood swings, behavioral issues, depression.
- Physically. Seizures, balance problems, slurred speech.
Clearly, the symptoms of brain damage can be broad, and this could lead to a misdiagnosis or be brushed off as kids exhibiting baffling kid behavior.
Does Your Child Have Mild or Severe Birth Trauma?
You may think that if the symptoms of your child’s birth trauma had been caught in the delivery room, they wouldn’t be in a bad spot now in childhood. But there may be no symptoms at all of problems at the time of delivery, especially if your child’s condition is mild.
Being a little behind in development, rolling over late, talking later than average – these can all be explained. And these behaviors may indicate that your child is simply behind the curve. But missing milestone after milestone – crawling, sitting up, walking, etc. – is an indicator that something isn’t right. Seeing your child’s pediatrician regularly is the best way to track progress and undergo evaluation to determine if a disability is present – and to begin to speculate how it came to be.
While you may not know for quite a while if your baby suffered an irreversible birth injury, the most severe cases of trauma are physically and physiologically evident at birth:
- Abnormally large forehead
- Unusually small skull.
- Abnormal facial features.
- Difficulty feeding.
- Seizures
- Stiffness
Find Out If Your Baby’s Birth Trauma Could Have Been Prevented
Birth trauma and brain damage can have multiple causes, some of which are the result of medical malpractice and negligence, such as lack of oxygen during delivery or C-section, untreated maternal infections, skull compression or fracture, and more.
If your child has cerebral palsy, developmental delays, a learning disability, or other physical or cognitive problem, a birth trauma could be to blame. Get help from the birth trauma lawyers at Thurswell Law and find out if you have a case and a right to compensation for your suffering. Contact Thurswell Law for a free consultation with one of our experienced attorneys. We do not charge any fees unless you collect. Call (248) 354-2222 today to schedule your consultation.
