What is a birth injury?
Occasionally during the birth process, the baby may suffer a birth injury. This is due to an unfavorable event that occurred during birth. This may also be called birth trauma. A birth injury or birth trauma refers to a wide range of injuries that affect the baby's body function or structure. The injuries can be mild to severe. They can result in significant damage or even be life-threatening.
What causes birth injury?
Birth injuries are more common when:
- The baby is large
- The baby is not head-first in the birth canal
- The baby is born prematurely, or too early
- The size or shape of the mother's pelvis or birth canal makes it difficult for a normal vaginal birth
- Labor is difficult or very long, such as when contractions aren't strong enough to move the baby through the birth canal
- The mother is very overweight
- There is a cesarean delivery
- Devices, like vacuum or forceps, are used to deliver the baby
What are some of the more common birth injuries?
The following are common birth injuries:
- Swelling or bruising of the head
- Bleeding underneath a cranial bone
- Breakage of small blood vessels in the eyes of a baby
- Facial nerve injury caused by pressure on the baby's face
- Injury to the group of nerves that supplies the arms and hands
- Fracture of the clavicle or collarbone
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