Birth Injury
Detailed information on birth injury, including the most common types.
What is a birth injury?
Occasionally during the birth process, the baby may suffer a birth injury. This is due to an unfavorable event that occurred during birth. This may also be called birth trauma. A birth injury or birth trauma refers to a wide range of injuries that affect the baby's body function or structure. The injuries can be mild to severe. They can result in significant damage or even be life-threatening.
What causes birth injury?
Birth injuries are more common when:
The baby is large
The baby is not head-first in the birth canal
The baby is born prematurely, or too early
The size or shape of the mother's pelvis or birth canal makes it difficult for a normal vaginal birth
Labor is difficult or very long, such as when contractions aren't strong enough to move the baby through the birth canal
The mother is very overweight
There is a cesarean delivery
Devices, like vacuum or forceps, are used to deliver the baby
What are some of the more common birth injuries?
The following are common birth injuries:
Swelling or bruising of the head
Bleeding underneath a cranial bone
Breakage of small blood vessels in the eyes of a baby
Facial nerve injury caused by pressure on the baby's face
Injury to the group of nerves that supplies the arms and hands
Fracture of the clavicle or collarbone