Parents in New York want their children to grow and thrive. Unfortunately, some babies suffer birth injuries that might not show up until later.
What are birth injuries?
If problems occur during delivery, a baby might suffer from birth injuries. They develop from complications like oxygen deprivation, insufficient blood flow or impact.
What are some delayed signs of birth injuries?
Babies go through various stages of development. Parents excitedly anticipate milestones from their children, but if a baby has a birth injury, they might miss those milestones and show developmental challenges. For example, at one month, a baby should begin to suckle and feed normally. If they are unable to do that, if they don’t blink when light is directly in their eyes and if their limbs are very limp, it indicates a problem.
By three months old, normal babies should respond to loud sounds, support their heads on their own, hold objects and push down with their legs. A baby with a birth injury often fails to perform these actions at that age.
At seven months, a normal baby is able to sit up and roll over. However, it’s a sign that your baby has suffered a birth injury if they cannot roll over or sit up on their own. If they appear very stiff, there might be an issue such as brain damage. Likewise, babies at this age shouldn’t be overly limp and flop over, so you should take that as a precaution.
When babies reach one year old, they are normally able to crawl, stand up while supporting themselves and utter a few basic words such as “mama” and “dada.” Delayed signs of a birth injury can manifest in babies as old as one year old. If your child can’t do any of those things, you need to seek medical attention so they can be diagnosed.
Birth injuries can be devastating. If you believe medical malpractice caused your baby to be injured, hold the doctor accountable.