When your baby suffers a birth injury, it can be difficult for the entire family. In addition to feelings of sadness, disappointment, and anger, you also have to figure out how to move forward, which can be confusing and challenging. Thankfully, you’re not alone. There are many resources available to you to help you medically, emotionally, and financially. With all of the help available to you, you should be able to form a comprehensive plan for properly caring for your child – and yourselves. 

Below, we gather a variety of sources that you can look into for help and assistance.  

Informational Resources

Being able to access accurate, helpful information is key for families of children with birth injuries. The resources below are trusted and authoritative.

• March of Dimes - This organization provides informational resources to families dealing with birth injuries or birth defects.

• ADA - The ADA website provides essential information about the Americans with Disabilities Act including regulations, cases, and more.
• Ability List - This website helps people with disabilities share medical resources, events, opportunities, and other information with one another.
• Baby Center - BabyCenter offers information on pregnancy, babies, and toddlers. Information about child development milestones may be particularly helpful.
• National Rehabilitation Information Center - This website offers many tools for disabled people including resources on education, mental health, employment, financial aid, and more.
• Disability Resource Network - This website offers information about supportive services for people with disabilities including transition programs, alternative education programs, advocacy, and more.

Support Groups

Support groups exist both online and in person all over the world. These offer information as well as emotional support. 

• United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) - UCP offers support and specific service through affiliate groups in different communities.
• The Disability Network -The Disability Network is an online support group providing people with disabilities and their families with independent living support, information and referrals, peer support, and advocacy, as well as other resources.
• Cerebral Palsy Family Network - The Cerebral Palsy Family Network provides information and legal resources as well as a community in which families can share news, resources, stories, and support.
• CityData for Children with Special Needs - This discussion board for parents of children with special needs is a place to share information, ask and answer questions, and seek general support.
• Facebook - Facebook offers several online support groups such as Birth Injury Support, Mother and Baby Birth Injury Support, and more.

Financial Assistance

One of the biggest challenges of dealing with a birth injury is paying for various costs such as healthcare and various forms of therapy. These resources help families afford necessary treatment.

• Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) - CHIP provides low-cost health insurance for families who do not qualify for Medicaid.
• Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) - WIC is a government assistance program helping provide nutritious foods, information on healthy eating, and referrals to health care.
• Aubrey Rose Foundation - The Aubrey Rose Foundation helps families caring for children with life-threatening illnesses by providing grants for medical expenses, scholarships for educational pursuits, and gifts of food and toys.
• Children’s Charity Fund, Inc. - Children’s Charity Fund, Inc. helps families struggling with paying medical bills. They help pay for medical equipment and educational grants and offer a toll-free national hotline for handicapped children.
• First Hand Foundation - The First Hand Foundation provides funding for children for healthcare that can be used toward travel, clinical needs, and medical equipment.
• United Healthcare Children’s Foundation - United Healthcare Children’s Foundation offers medical grants for health-related services that are not fully covered by health benefits. 
• Variety – the Children’s Charity - Variety – the Children’s Charity provides children with serious illnesses, disadvantages, or disabilities medical services and health care including equipment for mobility and independence and communication and educational services.
• Children’s Brain Injury Association - The Children’s Brain Injury Association awards grants for special bikes, fuel, technology equipment, therapy, and other medical expenditures.

Miscellaneous 

Below, you will find resources helping families of children with birth injuries with a variety of things ranging from education to employment to recreation.

• Ronald McDonald House - The Ronald McDonald House charity helps families stay close to their hospitalized children at little to no cost.
• Head Start - Run by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Head Start offers education to preschool children of low-income families including children with disabilities. Participants receive a wide variety of educational activities as well as meals and snacks, health care and dental care, and more.
• Starlight Children’s Foundation - Starlight Children’s Foundation improves the quality of life of children with chronic and life-threatening illnesses and injuries by helping them find joy and have fun through entertainment, education, and family activities.
• Enable America - Enable America helps increase employment for Americans with disabilities.
• The Lexi Kazian Foundation - The Lexi Kazian Foundation improves the quality of life and comfort of children with special needs by lending out equipment.
• Wheel to Walk Foundation - The Wheel to Walk Foundation provides financial assistance to children under 20 with special needs who have challenges getting funding for equipment and services such as bath chairs, gait trainers, therapy tricycles, communication devices, and wheelchairs.
• VSA - VSA is an international organization encouraging the creativity of people with disabilities.
• Disabled Sports USA - Disabled Sports USA helps disabled individuals get involved in recreation, community sports, and educational programs.

Get Legal Help

If your child’s birth injury was caused by the negligence of a healthcare provider, you may be eligible for compensation for your losses. For help pursuing a legal case against the parties responsible for your child’s birth injury, contact a birth injury lawyer for a free consultation.

If you suspect that your child may have suffered a birth injury or that the birth injury was caused by the negligence of a healthcare professional, you probably have a lot of questions. To help you out, we’ve put together this resource that answers some of the most frequently asked questions about birth injuries.

What Is a Birth Injury?

A birth injury is a harm done to a baby before, during, or shortly after delivery. Birth injuries range from minor ones that heal quickly on their own to more serious ones that require prompt treatment. The most serious birth injuries do not have a cure and can cause lifelong disability.

What Are Some Examples of Birth Injuries?

There are many different types of birth injuries affecting different body parts and functions. Some examples of birth injuries include:

• Brain damage - Occurring when a baby suffers a serious head injury during delivery, brain damage can lead to neurological and physical impairments and be caused by brain bleeding, asphyxia, infection, umbilical cord choking, and more.
• Cerebral palsy - Most often caused by brain injury during birth, cerebral palsy affects a person's muscle control and can cause speech and developmental delays.
• Erb’s palsy - Caused by damage to the brachial plexus nerves during childbirth, Erb’s palsy is characterized by paralysis of the hand, arm, or shoulder. 
• Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)  - Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy occurs when a baby suffers from a lack of oxygen and blood flow during birth.
• Intrauterine fetal demise - Also called stillbirth, fetal death before birth occurs in 1 out of every 100 pregnancies each year in the United States.
• Jaundice - Caused by high levels of bilirubin in the blood, jaundice causes a baby's skin and eyes to appear yellow in color.
• Kernicterus - Caused by untreated jaundice, kernicterus happens when bilirubin begins to collect in the brain.
• Newborn cephalohematoma - Occurring when bleeding in the skull causes blood to pool around the tissue surrounding the brain, newborn cephalohematoma can lead to seizures, brain damage, and depression in the head.
• Spinal cord injury - Usually caused by a doctor pulling on a baby’s spine during delivery, spinal cord injuries can reduce a baby’s sense of touch and ability to move.

How Can I Tell If My Baby Has a Birth Injury?

Some birth injuries cause symptoms that are apparent immediately upon birth. These include:

• One limp arm
• Abrasions, bruises, or swelling on the face, head, or shoulder
• A floppy appearance indicating a lack of muscle tone
• Requiring resuscitation at the time of delivery
• Seizures developing within 48 hours
• Failure to begin breathing immediately following delivery

Other birth injuries do not become apparent until after some time. Symptoms of birth injury that emerge later on include:

• Stiffness in the joints or muscles
• Inability to control leg or arm movement
• Trouble performing basic movements, such as clapping or grasping
• Inability to crawl, walk, or sit up
• Trouble swallowing or eating
• Missing certain developmental milestones, like rolling over, sitting, or standing
• Excessive drooling
• Seeming to favor one side of the body
• Limited range of motion
• Numbness or weakness in one arm
• Lack of arm movement indicating partial or complete paralysis

How Do I Know Who’s Responsible for My Baby’s Birth Injury?

Some birth injuries are not preventable and there is nobody that can be blamed for them. However, other injuries are preventable and occur as the result of a medical professional’s negligence. Healthcare providers owe a duty of care to their patients to meet a certain standard of caregiving. They must do everything they possibly can to prevent any harm to their patients. 

Unfortunately, there are many mistakes that a doctor or hospital staff member might make during the pregnancy, labor, or delivery process that can cause birth injury. These include:

• Prolonging a difficult labor
• Delaying a necessary cesarean section
• Failing to notice and respond to signs of fetal distress
• Failure to diagnose and respond to other issues that can cause birth injury including malpresentation, molar pregnancy, jaundice, incompetent cervix, high-risk pregnancy, umbilical cord compression, fetal growth restriction, and more

If you suspect that a healthcare professional may be responsible for your child’s birth injury, it is recommended to consult a medical expert for a formal opinion. 

What Can I Do If a Healthcare Provider Is Responsible for My Baby’s Birth Injury?

If a healthcare provider’s failure to meet the duty of care is responsible for your baby’s birth injury, you may be eligible for compensation through a medical malpractice lawsuit. Your first step in pursuing a lawsuit will be to speak to a birth injury attorney who has experience working on cases like yours. They will give you a free consultation during which you wil go over the details of your case. 

The lawyer will determine the strength and scope of your case and decide whether or not to take you on as a client. If you decide to work together, you will be able to formally request compensation from the party responsible for your baby’s birth injury. Often, birth injury cases are settled outside of court.

What Kind of Damages Can I Receive in a Birth Injury Lawsuit?

As part of your birth injury lawsuit, you can seek compensation for problems and issues caused by the injury such as:

• Pain and suffering
• Medical bills
• Reduced enjoyment of life
• Reduced future earnings

Part of the process of the lawsuit will involve providing documents that demonstrate the losses you have suffered as a result of the birth injury. A lawyer will be able to help you determine the exact dollar amount to ask for.