Lack of Oxygen at Birth & Long Term Effects for Babies
A lack of oxygen to a child can turn into a serious problem that can lead to brain damage or even death. You have many long-term consequences, such as the child could develop a condition known as cerebral palsy. When this happens, it scrambles the brain’s signals and causes miscommunications in the muscles. That’s one of the reasons that people view this as a muscle disorder, but in fact, this birth injury is a neurological condition.
Oxygen Deprivation at Birth
When a child suffers a lack of oxygen, it happens for any number of reasons, but we will highlight some of the main reasons that your child might not get enough oxygen. Let’s have a look at some of the main reasons:
- Child gets trapped on the mother’s pelvic bone.
- The child has a prolapsed umbilical cord.
- The mother suffers a placental abruption.
- Mother uses excessive medication.
You have some cases of oxygen deprivation where it will be completely out of the hands of the medical provider, but you have other cases where the staff were responsible for the birth disorder. For example, they didn’t respond to the injury on time, and this led to the birth disorder. Medical staff has a responsibility to both the mother and the child to help them with the birth and make sure that nothing bad happens. When they fail to protect the mother child, they could be held responsible for a medical malpractice lawsuit.
How Do Doctors Treat This Condition?
If your child suffers from not getting enough oxygen, the doctor will most likely use a hyperbaric oxygen chamber as a way of treating the condition. However, some people believe that this doesn’t have as strong of an effect as they would like. Still, it works better than having no form of treatment for it whatsoever. The goal is to lower some of the long-term effects that the infant might suffer. You have cases where the child suffered severe brain damage, and you have cases where he suffered mild. It largely depends on the circumstances for how you should respond to it.
The Long-Term Effects
You have long-term effects with a lack of oxygen that can have an impact on the whole family. It doesn’t just affect the child because the family will have to take care of the infant and any disabilities that they might have as a result.
Some of the potential long-term effects include:
- Seizures
- Cerebral palsy
- ADHD
- Behavioral problems
- Autism
Any one of these conditions will most likely require that your child receives long-term medical care. They may have to take medication, or they might undergo physical and occupational therapy to help with the condition. No matter what, the long-term effects can physically and emotionally tax the parents, depending on the severity. You may have to reach out to receive financial help as a way of lowering the burden on your shoulders.