A birth injury is an injury that takes place during the birthing process, and, due to the stress of labor, is not an uncommon complication. Many newborn babies have injuries at birth, although most injuries are mild. Sometimes there are more serious injuries, like damaged nerves or broken bones, but generally the injuries get better without treatment.
A New York Birth Injury Lawyer discussed how a difficult labor and delivery, where the baby is injured, usually takes place when the birth canal that the baby passes through is too small, or the baby is too large (which normally happens with gestational diabetes). If the baby is in an abnormal position, injury is more likely. Overall the amount of birth injuries have went down since previous decades due to improved prenatal testing and the availability of cesarean deliveries.
Head and brain injuries are one of the more common injuries, as the head is the first to emerge in the delivery process. Swelling of the scalp and bruising are common, but not cause for concern. Blood may accumulate below the coverings of the skull bones in a complication called cephalohematoma. These do not need treatment, and dissolve within a few months. A much less common injury is a skull fracture, which also heals without treatment unless it is a depressed fracture.
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