6 Common Birth Injuries and Their Complications
Witnessing a birth is nothing short of miraculous. However, the birthing process can be dangerous, so medical professionals have to be on their toes throughout the delivery. When a medical pro team fails to act responsibly, six common birth injuries are likely to occur. Here are those six injuries, and the complications that can occur alongside them when a medical team is not on the top of its game:
Table of Contents
1. Head Molding
While it is not technically a birth injury,l head molding can be seen as a preventable deformity that’s typically caused by poor birthing delivery management. In some cases, a wide range of mobility issues can even arise from atypical head molding aftereffects, so this can lead to a wide range of lawsuits.
Knowing how to address these issues post-birth can help you prevent molding from affecting your child long-term, however. If a doctor fails in their duty to address head molding, they can be held accountable. Thankfully, there are much fewer complications that affect the infant’s health when head molding occurs (when compared to the other injuries we’ll be discussing throughout this list).
2. Subgaleal Hemorrhage
When bleeding happens directly under an infant’s scalp, and above the periosteum that covers the infant’s skull, subgaleal hemorrhaging occurs. This injury is one of the more common forms of hemorrhaging that happens during birth.
While the injury is often minor, more intense cases can lead to significant blood loss that will have to be addressed immediately. When subgaleal hemorrhaging is not properly treated, it can lead to complications that can lead to seizures, as well as long-lasting (or even life-long) health issues.
3. Fracture
Unfortunately, both fractures and other bone injuries are known to occur fairly frequently during a birth operation. This can put pressure on the infant’s ability to grow in a healthy and even fashion, so doctors must do their very best to avoid fractures when at all possible during birth.
Fractures of the collarbone are particularly common, with these fractures occurring in roughly one to two percent of all births. This can lead to complications in the fractured area where a lump of tissue forms, or where more long-lasting birth compilations can begin forming. Thankfully, fractures and other bone injuries are often quite easy to treat and manage and do not lead to the affected infant having life-long complications from their injury.
4. Internal Bleeding
Internal bleeding is another somewhat common birth injury but is not nearly as common as fractures and other bone injuries. That being said, internal bleeding injuries are much more pressing and life-threatening, especially when they are not caught early on. Blood clotting and internal bleeding that prevents oxygen flow can be especially harmful. Intracranial hemorrhages are one of the more common internal bleeding injuries that newborns are affected by.
Preterm infants are at a higher risk of experiencing these types of injuries as well. Infants are likely to be lethargic, fussy when eating, or experience seizures due to this type of internal bleeding at birth. There are procedures to identify and stop internal bleeding when a baby is delivered, which helps to decrease the number of newborns who are significantly harmed by birth-related internal bleeding injuries.
5. Perinatal Asphyxia
Simply put, perinatal asphyxia occurs when a decreased blood flow to a baby’s tissues causes them to suffer from a lack of sustainable oxygen levels. This can be caused by many different factors but is most commonly caused by infections, abnormal fetus development, obstruction of blood flow to the umbilical cord, or maternal illness issues.
When perinatal asphyxia is not addressed quickly, it can lead to serious consequences. It can even make the child appear as though it’s unnaturally pale or even lifeless at birth, which will quickly terrify any new parent (and their doctor). Poor circulation, breathing issues, bleeding issues, and widespread infection can happen as a complication of perinatal asphyxia. In the most extreme cases where the infant is not treated properly or quickly enough, perinatal asphyxia can even lead to death.
6. Scalp Injuries
The scalp is at a high risk of potential injury during the birth operation. Since many babies come out head first, the complications that can occur as the head moves through the birth canal are increased. Scalp injuries can be just as commonly caused by improper scalpel or birthing tool use as well. The more well-trained and attentive the birthing team is, the less likely scalp injuries are to occur. Even when these issues occur, they are rarely life-threatening and tend to only result in minor complications.
Last Updated on August 16, 2023
