Parents understand that giving birth to a child is a day that they will never forget as long as they live. Few if any things are more momentous than these events. Nothing is more exciting than getting ready to welcome a new child into the world. While most parents will look back and acknowledge experiencing some fear and anxiety as they went to the hospital for the birth, those emotions are generally not noticed when parents are in the moment. There is simply too much else going on and too many other things on which to focus.
Unfortunately, parents who have been through deliveries where their child has suffered some sort of complication that led to a birth injury remember those fears and that terror all too well, as there was a time during that birth when the child was in serious danger. While parents who have been through this terrible experience will feel intense relief if their child survives such an incident, a birth injury could be a harbinger of things to come. Children who survive these ordeals could face several different types of struggles in the future.
The most obvious type of struggle that a birth injury survivor will face will be physical in nature. There are a number of different injuries that a child can suffer, and these injuries can harm a child’s ability to use his or her limbs, to walk, to talk or even to eat or get dressed in the morning. This will mean that the parents will have to take on those extra responsibilities as the child gets older. This could involve purchasing equipment such as a wheelchair or bringing in human help.
Another struggle that birth injury survivors could face is cognitive in nature. Many birth injuries involve the loss of oxygen to the child’s brain for a period of time during the birth, and any loss of oxygen at this vulnerable stage could have devastating effects. One of those effects could be developmental delays, and another could be a diagnosis of cerebral palsy. Cognitive defects are difficult to diagnose and many times even more difficult to treat.
Finally, a child who has suffered a birth injury could face significant emotional struggles as he or she grows up. That’s because at some point that child may begin to realize that he or she is ‘different’ from other kids in some way, or that child may be cruelly reminded of that notion by other children. No child wants to be seen as different, and this can lead to significant problems for that birth injury survivor.
Parents whose child suffers a birth injury may ask some of the following questions over time:
- Will my child need medical equipment?
- Will my child need medical treatments and therapy?
- Will my child be able to function normally on a cognitive level?
- Will my child be accepted socially by other children?
- How will we be able to afford all of this help?
No parent should ever have to ask these questions, but the unfortunate reality is that many have and some will in the future. If your child suffered a birth injury because of a medical mistake, contact the New York medical malpractice lawyers at The Fitzgerald Law Firm today to schedule a free initial consultation.