Last Updated on October 9, 2023 by Lori Pace
Fewer things create as much fear and frustration in new parents as birth injuries. Having a baby is already stressful enough, and most parents do not want to learn that their child is injured and that those injuries will likely last a lifetime. Parents take preventing birth injuries seriously, as do medical professionals.
Although they cannot eliminate the risk of birth injuries completely or control every outcome, medical professionals do some things to ensure the best outcome for both baby and mom while minimizing the risk of birth injuries.
Ensuring Proper Prenatal Care and Testing
In addition to other advancements, medicine has made crucial strides in prenatal care. Doctors can now perform numerous prenatal tests to check the health of the mother and baby.
These tests provide crucial information about maternal conditions, such as infections, gestational diabetes, and preeclampsia, while also helping medical professionals know about the baby’s progress and well-being.
Doctors can notice umbilical cord problems, suboptimal positioning such as the baby being in the breech position, and heart rate abnormalities. Knowing about these and other potential issues ensures medical professionals can intervene early to prevent serious injuries during pregnancy and childbirth.
Prenatal testing also helps doctors recognize high-risk pregnancies so mothers can receive extensive care that ensures they carry their babies to term.
Undergoing Additional Training
Medicine is constantly changing, and medical professionals are always learning from each other. Better knowledge generally translates into better outcomes for patients, including mothers and their babies.
Additional and continuing learning is also crucial for helping prevent medical malpractice and negligence. Well-trained Doctors are less likely to make mistakes that put mothers and babies in jeopardy.
Although it has many other causes, inadequate training has been linked to birth injuries. Because of their life-long and often devastating consequences, many doctors are sued for these types of injuries. Parents whose babies have suffered a birth injury resulting in paralysis can contact a lawyer to sue for compensation, especially in cases of suspected medical negligence and malpractice.
Learning to Recognize Signs of Fetal Distress
Cerebral palsy is a common birth injury caused by oxygen deprivation to the brain. Such deprivation typically occurs in cases where there is fetal distress. Because of the devastating effects of this birth and brain injury, medical professionals are trained to monitor the mother and baby during pregnancy and delivery.
Some of the signs they watch out for include:
- Cramping
- Vaginal bleeding
- Abnormal amniotic fluid volume
- Decreasing fetal movement
- Excessive or insufficient maternal weight gain
- Abnormal fetal heart rate
Doctors can catch some of these issues early during routine prenatal checkups, but they can also discover some when doing final checks before delivery.
Knowing When to Perform a C-section
Even in cases where the mother insists on delivering naturally, a doctor may still recommend a C-section. They could do this in case of maternal infection, umbilical cord compression, fetal distress, prolonged labor, and uterine rupture.
It is crucial to understand that doctors carefully weigh the benefits of a c-section against the risks the baby is in and will be in during the procedure. They then make an informed decision to ensure the best outcome for both the baby and the mother.
Conclusion
Birth injuries are devastating for all parents because of their consequences. Fortunately, medical professionals do their best to minimize risks and ensure the mom and baby are fine during the pregnancy, childbirth, and afterward.
