Childbirth is a joyful and sometimes dangerous process. It is not uncommon for newborn babies to receive birth injuries as they are being delivered. Here are four of the most common orthopedic injuries that newborns may receive during childbirth in New Jersey.
Erb’s palsy
Brachial plexus injuries such as Erb’s Palsy are a common type of birth injury. Your brachial plexus is a congregation of nerves that starts at your neck and flows all the way down to your arm. Due to its placement, it is easy for it to sustain damage if you were to pull on the baby’s arm or its head when there is resistance.
If a child suffers this injury, it usually causes one of their arms to be weaker than the other. Usually, this injury isn’t a big deal and will heal itself over time. If it doesn’t heal over the course of six months, surgery may be required.
Femur fractures
A fractured femur is when your baby’s thigh bone gets fractured or broken. These types of injuries can happen during delivery if the baby’s leg is in an awkward position. This type of injury is pretty uncommon, but if your child’s femur does get fractured, they will wear a Pavlik harness which should help them recover after wearing it for about a month.
Clavicle fractures
The most common injury that newborns experience during childbirth is a clavicle fracture. Your clavicle is also known as your collarbone, and this injury is likely to happen if your baby is being delivered in an awkward position or the doctor has to use an excessive amount of force to get the baby out.
This injury can cause your child to feel pain around their chest, close to their collarbone. It won’t require complex treatments for it to heal, usually the doctor will simply strap the baby’s arm to his chest which will help the bone heal in a few weeks.
Newborn babies are not as strong and resilient as adults. This is why it is easy for them to sustain injuries while getting delivered, but thankfully many of the injuries are not severe and can be treated easily.