In order to better understand the brain’s need for oxygen, we will go over a few scientific distinctions. Cerebral Hypoxia is a reduced flow of oxygen to the brain while Cerebral Anoxia is the complete absence of oxygen to the brain. Oxygen is of course vital for proper brain function; these conditions can cause brain injury during the birthing process.
Causes of lack of oxygen to the brain during birth include, but are not limited to
- Insufficient or too much medication
- Preclampsia and eclampsia
- Umbilical cord occlusion
- Distress to mother or fetus
- Fetus trapped in birth canal
- Infection
- Hyper-Contractions
Fortunately, in most cases, babies’ brains are resilient enough to recover from acute and short-term Hypoxia and Anoxia during the birthing process. About ¼ of babies who suffer from hypoxia and anoxia will have permanent damage.
- Injury to either side of the brain caused by lack of or insufficient oxygen can lead to paralysis.
- Injury to the left side of the brain can lead to speech and language disabilities.
- Injury to the right side of the brain can lead to mental health or emotional issues.
Conditions that may develop or present after birth due to a lack of oxygen include, but are not limited to:
- Cerebral Palsy
- Erb’s Palsy
- Fetal Stroke
- Poor APGAR scores.
If you think your baby may have been injured during delivery, you must call me immediately.
I’ll be there for you, and I’ll Make Them Pay!®
Author: Tim Misny | For over four decades, personal injury lawyer Tim Misny has represented the injured victim in in birth injury, medical malpractice, and catastrophic injury/wrongful death cases, serving Cleveland, Akron/Canton, Columbus, Dayton and neighboring communities. You can reach Tim by email at misnylaw.com/ask-tim-a-question/ or call at 877.944.4373