Doctors and Attorneys, Fighting for the Injured in Missouri
The birthing process can be complicated, and there are many reasons your baby might have experienced birth asphyxia. Caused by complications ranging from lowered respiration to poor placenta function, perinatal or birth asphyxia occurs whenever oxygen levels in the baby’s blood have been reduced to dangerous levels.
Tragically, the results of birth asphyxia can often be brain damage or even death. If this has happened to you, or your doctor failed to diagnose it, you may need to call one of our seasoned, medically-trained, Kansas City birth asphyxia attorneys at Cullan & Cullan.
Was your child hurt as a result of perinatal asphyxia? The doctor may be liable for damages, especially if you were subjected to poor medical assistance. Contact one of our doctor-lawyers online for a free consultation and case review.
What Causes Birth Asphyxia?
While causes for birth asphyxia can vary dramatically, some of the most commonly encountered include:
- Poor relaxation of the uterus, which can prevent oxygen circulation during birth
- Premature births
- Low levels of amniotic fluid
- Undue birth stress, including failure to deliver a baby quickly and effectively
- Preeclampsia
- Rupture of the mother’s membranes
- Umbilical strangulation often caused by a doctors failure to remove the umbilical cord in time
In some rare instances, birth asphyxia may be an unforeseeable tragedy.
However, the vast majority of doctors consider this condition to be easily
corrected, provided that the nurses and obstetricians are attentive to
you and your baby throughout the early stages of birthing.
Many of the most common causes listed above can be prevented simply by performing a quick and effective delivery.
What Are The Common Outcomes of Birth Asphyxia?
It can be difficult to calculate the full impact of perinatal asphyxia at first, as many symptoms do not present until later years. In other cases, asphyxia may cause immediate emergency symptoms. Ultimately, the severity of the outcome depends on how long the child was deprived of oxygen, and whether there was a complete cut-off of air, or a slower deprivation over time.
Often, there is hope that a child will recover fully from a minor brain injury, especially if it is treated in due time. However, all birth asphyxia outcomes have one thing in common, they pose exceptionally dangerous risks of injury to unborn children.
The most common dangerous short-term outcomes of birth asphyxia can include:
- Neonatal seizure
- Catatonia
- Pulmonary edema
- H.I.E. (Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy)
- Acute kidney injury
- Heart failure
Depending on the severity of the asphyxia injury, your child may also experience some long-term outcomes like:
- Mild to moderate disability
- Lowered IQ
- Cerebral palsy and other spasticity issues
- Decreased motor skills
- Blindness
- Epilepsy
Seek Justice for Your Child’s Birth Asphyxia Injury
At Cullan & Cullan, our Kansas City birth asphyxia attorneys are also
trained as doctors, giving us the unique ability to review your legal case with the eyes
of a medical professional.
If your child has been admitted to the NICU or given treatments that you don’t understand, it’s possible that birth asphyxia caused injuries that the hospital is reluctant to admit, or that medical malpractice occurred during delivery. We’ve reviewed thousands of cases like this, and we can help you fight for the maximum compensation that you need to provide life-long care for your baby.
Our birth injury team is on your side. Contact Cullan & Cullan today at (816) 253-8606 for a free consultation with one of our compassionate doctor-lawyers.