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Sacramento Personal Injury Lawyers, Brain & Spinal > Injury & Death > Injured Children's Justice Center > Birth Injuries > Common Types of Birth Injuries

Common Types of Birth Injuries

Topics on this page:

 Fetal Distress (Hypoxia)

 Cerebral Palsy

 Erb's Palsy

 Brachial Palsy/Brachial Plexus Injury

 Kernicterus (Severe Jaundice)

 Brain Injuries Caused by Forceps or Vacuum Extractors Umbilical Cord Complications

The umbilical cord is the baby’s lifeline while it is in the womb, carrying oxygen, blood and nutrients to the fetus right up to the point of birth.

Umbilical Prolapse occurs when the umbilical cord is "pinched” in the birth canal, cutting off oxygen to the baby.

Umbilical Cord Compression occurs when the cord gets wrapped around the baby’s body during delivery, also cutting off or decreasing the flow of blood and oxygen to the baby.

Birth injuries occur when doctors and medical staff fail to quickly free the umbilical cord from these dangerous positions.

Fetal Distress (Hypoxia)

Fetal distress, or hypoxia (read more), occurs when the unborn fetus is deprived of oxygen, often because of umbilical cord complications. The first indication of fetal distress is an abnormal heart rate.

The heart rate should be carefully monitored by doctors and medical staff using electronic fetal heart equipment or a fetal stethoscope. If an abnormality is found, there are immediate steps that can and should be taken to prevent birth injury, including:

 Giving the mother more oxygen,

 Turning the mother onto her left side, or

 Delivering the child as quickly as possible using forceps or by Caesarean Section (C-Section) back to top

Cerebral Palsy

The term "cerebral palsy” (read more) refers to several different kinds of permanent brain injuries that occur before, during, or shortly after birth. Victims of cerebral palsy can suffer a variety of symptoms including:

 Limited movement (motor skills)

 Speech difficulties

 Learning disabilities

In an infant, symptoms may include:

 Being slow to reach development milestones like rolling over, crawling, sitting, or walking

 Difficulty controlling muscles

 Balance and coordination problems

 Visual problems

 Hearing problems

 Epilepsy, seizures or spasms

Different types of cerebral palsy include spastic cerebral palsy, athetoid cerebral palsy, and ataxic cerebral palsy.

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Erb’s Palsy

Erb’s Palsy (read more) results from a very traumatic injury when the baby’s shoulder becomes stuck behind the mother’s pubic bone during delivery. Severe nerve damage affecting the neck and arm can result.

If the baby can move one arm but not the other, or if the arm hangs down at the side of the body, Erb’s Palsy may be the problem. The condition can be temporary, with full recovery of movement and sensation, but permanent paralysis or numbness may result in very serious cases.

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Brachial Palsy/Brachial Plexus Injury

Brachial palsy occurs when the brachial plexus (the group of nerves that supplies the arms and hands) is injured. It is most common when there is difficulty delivering the baby's shoulder, called shoulder dystocia.

Lack of muscle control and a loss of sensation or strength in the arm, hand or wrist are common symptoms. Intense pain is often felt from the neck down to the arm. If the injury caused bruising and swelling around the nerves, movement should return within a few months. Tearing of the nerve may result in permanent nerve damage.

A brachial plexus injury could be the result of medical negligence at birth where the baby's shoulders have been injured through the use of forceps and, in turn, the brachial plexus nerves have been stretched and torn.

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Kernicterus (Severe Jaundice)

Kernicterus (read more) is a form of brain damage caused by excessive jaundice. The substance which causes jaundice — "bilirubin” produced by the liver — is so high that it can move out of the blood into brain tissue.

When babies begin to have brain damage from excessive jaundice, they have difficulty staying awake and alert, they have a high-pitched cry and seem to lack muscle tone or act "floppy” (hypotonic), followed by increased muscle tone (hypertonic), with arching of the head and back. As the damage continues, they may develop fever, may arch their heads back into a very contorted position known as opisthotonus or retrocollis.

When the first symptoms appear it is an emergency situation. The brain damage can be prevented only if the treating doctor administers the right treatment quickly and without any interruption.

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Brain Injuries Caused by Forceps & Vacuum Extractors

Physicians use forceps and vacuum extractors, either separately or together, to help pull the fetus through the birth canal. Use of these devices to pull, twist, and manipulate the position of the fetus can result intraumatic brain and spinal cord injury, as well as skull fracture.

Contact a Sacramento Birth Injury Attorney

The experienced medical malpractice attorneys at Kershaw, Cutter & Ratinoff understand that birth injury and birth trauma cases can be complex and demanding.Our attorneys have recovered millions of dollars in damages for injured children and their families who have been the victims of careless doctors and medical staffs.

Our years of experience and our well-trained paralegals and administrative staff give us the advantage, even under the most difficult circumstances. We care about our clients and treat the injured children and their families with genuine concern, because we understand the devastating effects birth injuries can have on them.

If your child has suffered birth injury or trauma, please fill out and submit the contact form on this

page for a free and confidential case evaluation, or call us toll-free at (888) 285-3333.

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BIRTH INJURIES Important Information

 Family Support

 Personal Injury Attorneys

 KCR Proven Results QUICK LINKS

 Common Types of Birth Injuries

 Hypoxic Brain Injury

 Cerebral Palsy

 Erb's Palsy

 Brain Injuries Caused by Forceps and Vacuum Extractors

 Kernicterus (Severe Jaundice)

Children's Health & Wellness American Academy of Pediatrics

KidsHealth.org

American Association for Justice Report on Dangerous Toys &

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Sports Safety Information Sports Safety Education Sports Safety Quiz Birth Injury Information

BirthInjury.org CerebralPalsy.org Children's Injury Rehabilitation

What to do if your child has a Head Injury

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Brain Injury Association of America - Offices by State

Child Advocate Organizations Child Help Child Abuse Resources

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