Birth Injury Statistics

Birth injury is the traumatic loss or permanent impairment of a baby during or after the birthing process. Although improved medical technology is said to aid in succoring birth injuries, statistics reveal an alarmingly high number of birth injury related deaths in new born. The Clore Law Group has helped many family suffering birth injuries like Cerebral Palsy, Brachial Plexus, Erb's Palsy, Shoulder Dystocia and hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. While not all birth injuries are preventable, the doctor's actions may have been negligent. Negligence could be mis-diagnosis or failure to follow procedures designed to minimize the risks involved in a diagnosed condition.

Birth Injury Statistics

• Birth injuries per year - 28,000; per month - 2,333; per week - 538; per day - 76; per hour - 3
• Out of every 1000 babies that are born in the U.S each year, 7 babies procure birth injuries. Out of these, higher number of injuries occur to male babies than the female ones. It is also revealed that these mostly occur in not-for-profit hospitals.
• More birth injuries occur in large hospitals having over a hundred beds than in smaller ones with less than a hundred beds.
• Six out of the 1,000 possess mild to severe birth injuries like cerebral palsy, erb's palsy, facial paralysis, fractures and spinal cord damages.
• Ten thousand babies who have suffered from birth injury, namely cerebral palsy will develop new cases of this condition.
• Birth injuries are found to cause 20% of all infant deaths.
• Each year one in every 33 babies is affected by birth injuries.
• There are 134 infant deaths per 100, 000 live births caused due to birth injuries.
• According to the Center for Disease and Control, of the study of thirty-eight kinds of birth defects that have occurred between 1979-89, 27 have increased, including, fetal alcohol syndrome, chromosomal defects and cardiac defects. Of these nine have remained the same with only two having decreased.
• 10 per cent of problems seen at birth are linked to environmental factors, drug abuse, biologic or nutrition factors.
• Low weight at birth is the leading cause of infant mortality.
• 6 to 7 per cent birth injuries only surface around the age of one year and 12 to 14 per cent by school age.

Medical negligence

• Improper usage of forceps or vacuum
• Failure to recognize fetal distress
• Recognizing a non- reassuring fetal status
• Improper resuscitation a depressed baby
• Untimely Cesarian section birth
• Instrumental births

Other Birth Injury Causes

Smoking: If smoking were stopped during pregnancy- infant mortality decreases by 10 percent and low birth weight (LBW) by 25 percent. Smoking can cause premature death of the baby, respiratory issues and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Alcohol: Mothers drinking alcohol cause birth related deaths to their babies including retardation of growth, cerebral palsy and abnormalities to the face. It occurs in 2 out of every 1,000 infants. Low Birth Weight: Linked to poor maternal nutrition, teenage pregnancy, premature birth, drug and alcohol abuse etc., 12,600 infant deaths can be prevented if mothers received adequate nutrition and pre-natal care. AIDS: A third of babies born to AIDS infected mother will develop AIDS by 18 months of age. Prenatal care: 1.3 million women who receive insufficient prenatal care every year cause 25 percent more infant death than normal. Receiving good quality prenatal care can prevent the same. If your child was diagnosed with a birth injury, contact to Clore Law Group today.