Birth Injuries

Facial nerve palsy is a condition in which the patient loses the ability to voluntarily control the muscles in their face. It may be caused by birth trauma if improper pressure is put on the seventh cranial nerve, also known as the facial nerve, before or during delivery, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A difficult delivery may result in facial nerve palsy, especially if forceps are used. Som [...]

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) defines cerebral palsy as a neurological disorder that affects children starting in infancy or early childhood. When a child is injured during delivery, they may develop cerebral palsy as a result of the injury. Some children who catch a bacterial infection during or after delivery may also have cerebral palsy if the infection damages their brain. [...]

The Piedmont Medical Center has been instructed recently by a York County jury to pay damages due to hospital negligence amounting to over $4 million to a South Carolina couple, The Charlotte Observer reported in an article. The couple, Robin and Brice Wilson, had lost their infant daughter during her birth due to a brain injury. Sierra Wilson had been born in 2003 at the hospital but lack of oxygen caused her to [...]

The British press is full of reports today about a young girl there who plans to travel to China for stem-cell treatment of her cerebral palsy. Shonia Tahiliani is eight, but she can’t walk or sit upright and can’t speak, even though she understands two languages. Her parents are raising 18,000 British pounds -- more than $35,000 -- to send her to Tiantan Puhua Neurosurgical Hospital in Beijing for stem cell in [...]

Here's a welcome break from the usual round of medical jargon about Erb's palsy: injurednewborn.com, a site set up by Francine Litz, the mother of a daughter with a birth injury to her brachial plexus. (In short, obstetric brachial plexus injuries leave children with one arm weakened or useless, often dangling limply with the hand turned backwards. It sometimes clears up on its own, but is often a lifelong disabili [...]

Neonatal herpes, either type I or II, is a serious viral infection of the infant which needs immediate hospitalization and treatment. Herpes virus type I is marked by the eruption of vesicle lesions on the lips or nostrils, versus herpes virus type II which has lesions located on the genitalia. If localized neonatal herpes is left untreated, the virus may become disseminated into a virulent and fatal form. Thus, ti [...]

August 4, 2009 – Boston - Health officials from Massachusetts, including those from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, are urging parents to stop using plastic baby bottles and other products that contain the chemical bisphenol A, also known as BPA. Cities like Chicago have already banned BPA, among rising concerns that the chemical may produce harmful effects on infants’ brain and thyroid [...]

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been studying the effect of the environment on people and their health.  Recently, researchers in Canada have linked male low birth rates to an increase in lower fertility and an increase in environmental contaminants. According to UPI, researchers studied the male birth weights of five million children born in Canada between 1981-2003 from records kept i [...]

A child’s natural development, genetics and the quality of infant care all play a role in the causes of birth injuries. If your baby experiences an abnormal birth, such as breech delivery, the risk of physical birth trauma is high.Events during delivery can also result in brain or nerve damage that leads to complications that may affect your child’s future quality of life.Any of these scenarios may leav [...]

Women who are trying to conceive and those who are already pregnant can follow some simple tips to promote a healthy pregnancy and to avoid complications at birth.   Select a competent doctor.   Get prenatal care as soon as you think you might be pregnant.  Avoid toxic substances especially in the home and workplace.  Quit smoking – women who smoke during pregnancy are more like [...]