Lack of Oxygen at Birth: Long Term Consequences

Childbirth is often a joyful experience, yet it can also carry many dangers. When complications arise, you trust your obstetrical team to thoroughly evaluate your condition and your baby’s condition and prepare a plan for any anticipated or likely outcomes. When your team fails at this, you and your child are the ones who suffer.

Lopez McHugh LLP has over 50 years of experience serving families in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and nationally. If physician or provider negligence caused your child’s lack of oxygen at birth, you may need to speak with one of our Philadelphia birth injury lawyers. Asphyxia at birth can have long term consequences, and you may be entitled to compensation to help you provide the care necessary to meet your child’s different needs.

What Causes Lack of Oxygen at Birth?

The lack of oxygen at birth is a relatively common concern when it comes to birth complications. Also known as birth asphyxia, this life-threatening complication can be the result of countless conditions affecting the birthing parent or baby. Among these are:

• Blood pressure problems in the birthing parent
• Infection in the parent or baby
• Too little oxygen in the birthing parent’s blood
• Umbilical prolapse
• Umbilical compression
• Other umbilical cord complications
• Airway malformation

Before the baby’s face is exposed to the air, the baby receives oxygen from blood in the umbilical cord. Anything that affects the oxygen levels in the birthing person’s blood or the umbilical cord can cause oxygen deprivation and cell death in the baby’s brain, known as Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE).

Cell damage may be minimal if your physician identifies the problem quickly and your baby receives oxygen right away. However, if your team is unable to identify and correct the issue soon enough, the results can be catastrophic.

Signs of Injury From Oxygen Deprivation

Prolonged deprivation of oxygen can lead to significant systemic and neurological deficits. If complications arise shortly before or during your delivery, you may notice a few indicators of significant cell damage or injury. Some signs may be clear immediately, such as changes in skin color or responsiveness.

Your child’s medical team may also give a low APGAR score, an assessment done at one minute old and five minutes old to assess your child’s:

• Skin color appearance
• Pulse
• Grimace (reflex irritability)
• Activity (muscle tone)
• Respiration (breathing rate and ease)

Beyond the first minutes after birth, you may notice further indicators of injury from oxygen depletion. This can include problems feeding, including a weak suck reflex or seizures. In the days following your child’s birth, a physician may order an MRI for your baby to assess for visible signs of brain damage from asphyxiation.

Your child may also show symptoms of organ damage or failure following a lack of oxygen. This can happen when the brain diverts the oxygenated blood it has from less critical parts to the body’s vital structures, such as the brain stem. This diversion can cause cell death in organ systems, resulting in organ failure.

When Lack of Oxygen Is Fatal

In extreme cases where your child suffers a lack of oxygen for an extended period of time, it can be fatal. The World Health Organization reports that nearly 1 million infants die per year from perinatal asphyxia. If you have lost your child at delivery because of your physician’s negligence, you may be eligible to file for a wrongful death lawsuit.

Filing a lawsuit may seem cold and distasteful when you have lost your child since no amount of money can replace what was taken. However, you may be able to recover compensation that allows you to grieve in the way that suits you and your family best, in addition to holding the physician accountable.

Many children who experience a lack of oxygen at birth require lifelong care and medical attention. The costs for these treatments mean parents must not only prepare for years’ worth of expenses but also make plans for their offspring’s well-being after the parents pass away.

Long Term Symptoms of Lack of Oxygen at Birth

The long term symptoms of birth asphyxia can be mild to deadly. In the source cited above on the topic, birth asphyxia is associated with a higher morbidity and mortality rate. As many as 30% of cases will cause infant death within the first few days. Beyond those initial days, the effects of the birth injury will often become more evident.

Multidisciplinary Team Support

Many times, families will need to work with multidisciplinary teams to support their child’s needs for:

• Support for organ damage
• Physical therapists
• Occupational therapists
• Speech therapists
• Developmental pediatrician
• Neurologist
• Audiologist

This type of team can support you with complications and challenges your child may face in the form of epilepsy, auditory, ambulatory, fine motor skills, or general health problems. These services can be difficult for families to obtain, and the volume of appointments may make it difficult for both parents to maintain their work schedules and other commitments. Securing financial relief from the at-fault parties can ease these concerns.

Educational Needs

Moderate to severe incidents resulting in a lack of oxygen at birth can cause significant cognitive delays and may require ongoing educational support through Individualized Education Plans (IEP). These plans may include educational adjustments and accommodations for medical and emotional needs. These accommodations will often follow your child through school to ensure they meet your child’s developmental, educational, and medical needs.

Cerebral Palsy

One of the more commonly understood syndromes related to birth asphyxia is cerebral palsy (CP). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cerebral palsy is a group of disorders that affect an individual’s ability to move or maintain their balance or posture. While posture and balance are the common components of this disease, symptoms may include any of those mentioned above, as well as those like scoliosis or joint problems.

Indicators of CP in development can include coordination problems such as lopsided crawling or bringing their hands to their mouth, delays in rolling, stiffness or floppiness in an infant, or overextension in the back or neck. The life expectancy of an individual with CP can vary significantly based on the severity of the syndrome. Some protective factors include higher mobility, access to services and supportive equipment, and degree of autonomy. Beyond these protective factors, pneumonia, accidents, seizures, infection, or aspiration may also affect the life expectancy of someone with CP.

Get Support From a Birth Injury Lawyer Today

If your child has suffered due to a lack of oxygen at birth and you and your family are suffering long term consequences, you may be entitled to compensation. You can call and schedule a free case consultation to determine if working with a birth injury lawyer is the right move for you and your family. Lopez McHugh has helped countless survivors of medical malpractice and recovered millions of dollars on their behalf.

You are already paying a steep price for your doctor’s negligence, and they should be held accountable. When you pursue a birth injury lawsuit, you are fighting for financial support to meet the needs of your child. You can use the money to meet their current needs or put it away to ensure they have the continued care they need when you are gone. Contact us today.