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What Every Parent Needs to Know About Perinatal Asphyxia

If the doctor delivered the devastating news that your child suffered from perinatal asphyxia, you were probably left with a lot of questions. How did it happen? What impact will this birth injury have on your child? Could the condition have been prevented? There is no doubt that as a parent, you were left feeling overwhelmed and helpless.

Wikipedia.org defines perinatal asphyxia as, “a medical condition resulting from deprivation of oxygen (hypoxia) to a newborn infant long enough to cause apparent harm.” Usually it occurs when there is a drop in maternal blood pressure or some type of interference that inhibited the blood flow to the infant’s brain during the delivery. It is estimated that perinatal asphyxia affects 2 to 10 per 1000 newborns that are born at term.

There are many possible causes of perinatal asphyxia, including:

Drop in the mother’s blood pressure
Inadequate amount of oxygen was sent to the brain
Umbilical cord was wrapped around the infant’s neck
The infant remained in the birth canal too long

It is usually apparent right away when a child suffers from asphyxia. The baby will have poor coloring, low blood pressure and slow responsiveness. Extreme cases of asphyxia can result in cardiac arrest and even death.

Asphyxia can lead to all kinds of complications. The infant’s organs can be negatively impacted and there could be permanent brain damage. When the brain is damaged, it can result in cerebral palsy, developmental delay and spasticity.

Sometimes nothing can be done to prevent perinatal asphyxia, but other times, measures can be taken to avoid serious complications. If your doctor was negligent and his or her carelessness caused your child’s condition, you may be able to recover compensation.

For more information regarding your rights, contact an experienced Manhattan birth injury lawyer at the law firm of Rappaport, Glass, Greene and Levine today at 800.734.9445.