There are few things more devastating than the news some parents receive about their children after birth. Most parents expect their child to be healthy and thriving, and this isn’t an unrealistic expectation. However, when it comes to a certain birth injury like cerebral palsy, its prevalence is significant with 1/323 suffering from cerebral palsy, according to the Center for Disease Control. Sometimes cerebral palsy happens due to the doctor or hospital’s care, or lack thereof before, during or immediately following the birth of a child.
According to the CDC, nearly half of all suffering from cerebral palsy were unable to walk on their own without help, if at all, due to the debilitating nature of the disease. Naturally, the physical need for medical care or rehabilitation for those unable to walk would be significant over the course of that child’s life. The causes of cerebral palsy vary, but the CDC confirms that cerebral palsy can occur due to hypoxia, which is a disruption of oxygen supplied to the baby during birth. Hypoxia cases do not account for the majority of cerebral palsy diagnosis, but it is a significant factor and it does happen.
This is why it is important to investigate just what caused your child’s or a loved ones child’s birth injury. It is not always immediately apparent what caused a child to be diagnosed with such a challenging diagnosis like cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy can also affect a person’s mental condition and can leave those afflicted with lifelong mental disabilities. Obviously seeking care for these type of disabilities will financially weigh heavily on a family’s expenses.
Luckily, most children will never know the challenges that a birth injury like cerebral palsy can cause. For those families who do, there is legal recourse available. The affected child will have a long-life ahead of them, even with the disability. Caring for them is the number one priority.
Source: cdc.gov, “Data and Statistics for Cerebral Palsy,” Accessed July 11, 2016