Common Birth Delivery Injuries And Its Consequences

birth injury

When an unborn baby is adversely affected or the pregnant mother is injured during the course of delivering the baby, the damage caused is unavoidable in most instances.

On the other hand, there are situations where the kind of treatment opted by the doctor is inappropriate, leading to permanent damage for the baby.

Keep reading below to uncover some of the most common yet preventable injuries that incur at the time of childbirth:


Birth Delivery Injuries

Caput Succedaneum

This condition refers to the swelling that incurs on the scalp of the newborn baby.

Caput Succedaneum is generally stemmed by pressure or stress on the baby’s head all through a complex or long-drawn-out head-first delivery, or as a result of void extraction process.

Prominent bruising often comes along with swelling. However, the state frequently subsides in a few days post delivery.


This is yet another kind of a birth injury that surfaces as a consequence of vacuum extraction. Cephalohematoma takes place when blood accumulates amid the skin and cranium bone. This disorder can be a forerunner to jaundice; however, it frequently lessens within a time span of a few weeks to 3 months.

Erb’s Palsy

Erb’s palsy is basically an injury inflicted on nerves. Erb’s palsy occurs if the child’s neck or shoulders are extended too far during the course of delivery.

According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, this condition affects 1 to 2 out of every 1,000 babies.

When the nerves near the neck get damaged, the newborn baby experiences numbness or inability to move their arms. This is when ERB’s palsy strikes.

The majority of the babies will get better along with improvements in the mobility of their affected arm; however, there are severity levels associated with Erb’s Palsy. Some babies may have to go through physical therapy or even surgery if no prominent improvements are witnessed within a span of 3 months.

Birth Fractures

Clavicle or collarbone fractures are the most common fractures experienced by newborn babies during birth.

Fractures seem to be inevitable in some scenarios, but they can also occur where the physician had a logical occasion to identify possible complications, and C-section childbirth would’ve been a suitable treatment option.

Taking care of birth injury malpractice cases with skillfulness and efficiency, our medical malpractice lawyers in New York have been helping parents who have kids with autism, cerebral palsy, and other birth injuries gain justice.

Call us at (800) 323-9900 so that we can help you fight for your rights and secure compensation for medical malpractices.