Birth Injury and How to Prevent It

Identify the Risk Factors Associated with Birth Trauma

Sep 25, 2009

Birth injury, or birth trauma, is on the minds of many expectant moms. Fortunately, nearly half of all birth injuries are preventable. Here's info every mom should know.

Expectant moms are cautioned not to worry about birth injury, also termed birth trauma. But live birth reality shows and constantly repeated delivery stories make it hard for many women to fully relax as their due dates draw near.

Often, a little research can restore a sense of control. Once expecting parents understand how preventable many instances of birth injury are, they will be equipped to follow their baby’s prenatal care and discuss delivery options with their doctor or midwife.

What Causes Birth Trauma?

Birth injuries can occur as a result of the traction, compression, and torque a baby undergoes during delivery. While labor is a natural process, it isn’t completely risk free especially for infants with certain risk factors.

Birth Injury Statistics

In the U.S. today, only six to eight infants are seriously injured per 1,000 births. This amounts to less than 2%.

The rate of birth trauma has plummeted due to several medical advances. First, most of the risk factors associated with birth injury are now detectable with ultrasound. Furthermore, forceps and vacuum suction aren’t used as frequently as they once were. Expectant mothers do have a say in their birth experience and should certainly feel empowered to talk with their doctor or midwife before the due date to discuss possible scenarios for the delivery.

Birth Injury Risk Factors

Around half of all birth trauma cases can be prevented with early recognition of the following risk factors:

Expectant moms with any of these risk factors will want to take this into account when choosing where to deliver. Women with risk factors will be wise to choose access to a top notch neo-natal facility and monitoring.

Common Types of Birth Trauma

Expectant moms will be happy to know that the vast majority of babies who experience some form of birth injury heal completely within several days or weeks. Serious birth trauma complications such as intra-abdominal injuries or spinal cord damage are very rare. These are a few of the most common types of birth trauma seen in the delivery room.

Bruising, swelling, or lacerations of a baby’s scalp can be caused by fetal monitoring, scalpels used in a C-section, compression in the birth canal, a vacuum extraction, or forceps. These injuries usually subside in a matter of days.

Nerve damage is also a birth injury concern. Partial paralysis of a baby’s face or vocal chords can be caused by pressure in the birth canal or injury from forceps. Paralysis usually goes away as the injured area heals. If the nerve was torn, surgery may be needed to fix the problem.

Problems delivering a baby’s shoulders can result in bruising or swelling around the nerves responsible for movement in the baby’s arm and hand. Best case scenario, full range of flexing and rotating returns as the injury heals, but tearing of the nerve can result in permanent damage.

More serious nerve injuries resulting from spinal chord damage occur when a baby’s body is stretched or rotated during the birth process. Most of these injuries occur during a breech birth and can be prevented with prenatal monitoring.

A fractured clavicle or collar bone is not uncommon during the birth process. Though a fracture is most common in breech and large babies, this birth injury is often unavoidable. One consolation is that a new baby’s bones heal very quickly.

Though an expectant mom should certainly not fear birth injury, she should take every precaution by being aware of the risk factors associated with birth trauma and receiving good prenatal care. Discussing delivery options with a doctor or midwife in the months leading up to delivery and creating a birth plan are also excellent preparations for her new baby’s arrival.

The copyright of the article Birth Injury and How to Prevent It in Childbirth - Labour & Delivery is owned by Marcy Paulson. Permission to republish Birth Injury and How to Prevent It in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.