The 5 Main Fetal Risk Factors for a Birth Injury
Some pregnancies are more difficult than others. Fortunately, modern medicine in the field of obstetrics (the branch of medicine related to pregnancy) has identified many of the risk factors. If doctors and expecting mothers can identify the risks ahead of time, they can make a plan for them to reduce the risk of a birth injury. In fact, the doctor and medical facilityhave a dutyto understand any significant risk factors to take actions that will avoid birth injuries when possible. It’s important for expecting mothers to be aware of their own risk factors for a birth injury (such as age or obesity) as well as the types of risk factors that the fetus or pregnancy can present, which we’ll describe below.
The Types of Birth Injury Risk Factors
The risk for a birth injury can be separated into three major categories: risk factors of the procedure or tools being used (e.g., use of forceps), risk factors of the mother (e.g., the age of the mother), and, finally,risk factors related to the fetus or pregnancy.
The Five Main Risk Factors for Birth Injury Related to the Fetus
According to the National Institute of Health’sNational Library of Medicine, the five fetal and pregnancy-related factors include:
Frequency & Types of Birth Injuries
In the United States, there are approximately 1.9 birth injuries per 1,000 live births. When the fetus/pregnancy presents challenges listed above, it can cause a difficult delivery, which increases the risk of a birth injury. Some of the most common birth injuries related to difficult deliveries include:
Who Is Responsible for a Birth Injury?
In some cases, such as with birth defects, the birth injury is unavoidable. In other situations, there is a birth injury that could have been avoided. If it is determined by experts that the doctor or medical staff did not consider the risk factors, if they departed from the established standard of care, or if they did react to an emergency in a reasonable amount of time, it can be considered medical malpractice.
Most birth injuries are minor and the baby can be expected to make a full recovery. In some severe cases, there could be a lifetime of disability and very expensive medical and developmental needs.
In situations where there is a baby with a birth injury, it is important to immediately get the facts on why it happened, and that requires professional assistance. Law firms, likeBrown & Barron, have specialized expertise to evaluate the facts of a birth injury and determine if malpractice occurred. A specialist called a lifeplan expert will then work to determine the full amount the victim and the family will need to cover the economic losses and future expenses (e.g., medical, accessibility, and therapy needs) in addition to the pain and suffering that they will have to endure, perhaps for decades.
Contact Brown & Barron onlineor call(410) 547-0202to schedule a free case review with a with a birth injury lawyer serving Maryland and Washington, D.C.