As an expectant mother, you worried about your child. You wanted them to grow to be healthy and to be born as easily as possible. It was your goal to make sure they were protected, so you attended regular appointments and made sure you and your child were healthy.
Unfortunately, you struggled to give birth. You were in labor for 10 hours before a nurse finally told you you were dilated enough to deliver. They failed to mention that your doctor wasn’t at the hospital yet. This entire time, you were just being monitored.
You waited another hour for your medical provider to arrive. When he did, you asked for C-section. He disagreed and said you’d be able to get through giving birth vaginally, but you felt something was wrong. It wasn’t long before the machinery around you agreed and started to show that you and your child were in danger. Even then, the staff didn’t rush to do the surgery. Your provider wanted to try less invasive options. By the time you did eventually have the C-section, your child was in real danger.
As a result of everything that happened, your child went through many complications. Today, your child is living with cerebral palsy. It’s a moderate case, but you know that it’s going to affect them negatively for the rest of their life.
Can a difficult delivery lead to cerebral palsy?
Yes, it can. When a child goes through a difficult delivery, there is a potential for it to develop cerebral palsy. CP is normally caused by brain damage during birth. Being born too early, dealing with complications during birth or even something like an untreated infection can lead to cerebral palsy.
Some children develop cerebral palsy later in life. This can happen because of developing meningitis or because of suffering a serious head injury.
What should you do if your child is diagnosed with cerebral palsy after a difficult birth?
One of the things to do is to sit down with your provider and have an honest conversation about what went wrong. You can also get a second opinion to see if the way the birth was handled could have played a role in your child’s injuries.
If your child was hurt as a result of the birthing process and medical errors, then you and your family may want to consider filing a medical malpractice claim against your medical provider.