Out of every 1,000 babies born six to eight of them will have some type of birth injury. If you are getting close to your due date you should not worry and chances are you will have a completely normal birth with a healthy baby. It can still be helpful to understand the different types of birth injuries, however, so you will know what you should do if any of these things happen to your precious baby.

Nerve Damage

As you are delivering your baby, he or she has to squeeze through your birth canal. This can be a tight fit so it is important that the doctor guides the baby through properly. If your baby's path is not correct, their nerves can be compressed.

This could happen in a variety of places on your baby's body. Common areas where nerves are damaged are the legs, arms, and face. In some cases, this damage is temporary but in others the damage is irreversible. If this happens to your baby they will have paralyzed muscles, loss of muscle control and involuntary movements.

For example, if your baby has facial paralysis, you will instantly notice it. In most cases it affects only one side of the face. Your baby's mouth will likely be uneven, one of their eyelids may not completely close, and the damaged side of their face may be paralyzed.

Brain Injury

Brain injury is another type of birth injury. This can be due to many things. One common reason is when the baby has a lack of oxygen for a time during the birth. Your baby can develop many problems if their brain is deprived of oxygen. For example, when there is lack of oxygen more blood may flow into the brain and this can cause a brain hemorrhage to develop. Blood can also drain from your baby's brain and cause hypoxic ischemia. Your baby's brain may also have electrical responses, which can cause seizures, which can lead to brain damage. This could also lead to a serious problem like cerebral palsy.

Some things that can cause brain injury is if your doctor fails to detect an infection, or not treat and monitor the infection properly. You may need an emergency C-section but your doctor allowed natural birth to continue. Your doctor may use tools to help assist them with the birth and use these tools incorrectly.

No matter the type of birth injury that happens, you should contact a birth injury lawyer, such as Snyder & Wenner, P.C., You will likely have massive medical bills and may not be able to work. This can lead to a very big settlement for you.