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What Are the Most Common Symptoms of Birth Injuries?
Birth injuries are injuries that a newborn sustains during the birthing process. While most birth injuries are very minor and resolve shortly after birth, a major birth injury can lead to lifelong disability or disfigurement. When a birth injury is caused by a physician’s negligence or your doctor fails to diagnose a birth injury he should not have missed, you may have grounds to file for medical malpractice near Annapolis.
Behavioral Concerns
Babies that have sustained a traumatic brain injury or musculoskeletal injury during birth may act strangely in the following days or weeks. Some of the actions that should prompt you to pursue a medical evaluation include breathlessness, difficultly sucking or swallowing while eating, lethargy, excessive drooling, chronic fussiness, high-pitched crying, an arched back while crying, or seizures. Other actions and behaviors that can indicate the presence of a birth injury include favoring one side, frequent writhing movements, muscle weakness, strangely-curled hands, muscle spasms, and poor reflexes.
Health Concerns
In some cases, birth injuries cause additional health concerns or conditions that can be linked back to the initial injury. These health concerns include anemia, vision problems, hearing loss, persistent coughing, low blood oxygen levels, jaundice, a low heart rate, and poor weight gain. Especially if your child has been acting strangely or displayed any of the behavioral symptoms of a birth injury, it’s important to discuss additional health concerns with your doctor and whether they could be due to an injury sustained during birth.
If you believe your child has suffered a birth injury due to a doctor’s negligence before, during, or immediately after birth, it’s essential to contact a professional attorney to help you handle your case. Medical malpractice lawyers have experience with handling birth injury claims and can help you pursue the right course of action to receive compensation for your child’s injuries.