The Link Between Cognitive Developmental Disabilities and Birth Injuries

The effects of birth injuries can vary widely in type and severity. Some birth injuries are physical while others affect the brain and create cognitive developmental disabilities. One of the challenges in making a connection between cognitive developmental disabilities and birth injuries is that it can take years or even decades for the condition to develop and be diagnosed. As a result, parents may not make the connection between a birth injury and the cognitive development disability that develops down the road. Several studies suggest, however, that in many cases the condition can be attributed to a birth injury.

When a birth injury is caused by the mistake or negligence of a medical professional, there may be a case for medical malpractice. If your infant sustained a birth injury resulting in a cognitive development disability, contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney right away.

Common cognitive developmental disabilities related to birth injuries

There is a long list of possible cognitive development disabilities that can stem from a birth injury; they vary widely in severity.

Mild cognitive development disabilities associated with birth injuries include delayed language development, poor fine motor skills, social anxiety and learning disabilities in basic math and reading.

Moderate to serious cognitive developmental disabilities attributed to birth injuries range from attention deficit disorder (ADD), attention deficit hyper disorder (ADHD), Asperger’s syndrome and autism.

What is the connection between cognitive developmental disabilities and birth injuries?

Social anxiety and problems with fine motor skills are often linked to oxygen deprivation of one minute or less during birth in various forms such as hypoxia, anoxia, perinatal asphyxia or birth asphyxia.

Many medical experts theorize that ADD, ADHD, autism and Asperger’s syndrome are connected to trauma of the brain at a young age or during the birth process. In fact, recent studies have shown a link between ADD and ADHD and long, difficult labors lasting more than 18 hours. The compression of the skull for such a long period of time places undue stress on the brain. Studies have also found a link between autism and Asperger’s syndrome and oxygen deprivation of one minute or more at birth and/or vacuum extraction or forceps injury.

In some cases, a combination of lack of oxygen and other brain traumas such as skull fractures or bleeding of the brain from an aggressive birth intervention are the cause of the cognitive developmental disability. Additionally, stress during birth can sometimes cause an emergency reaction in the brain that reorders the cognitive pathways.

Cerebral palsy and birth injuries

Cerebral palsy is the most common type of motor disability, affecting around 500,000 people in the United States. In addition to the muscle and movement limitations caused by the condition, cerebral palsy can also cause mild to severe cognitive developmental disabilities and behavioral and emotional disorders.

In some cases, doctors are unable to find the cause of cerebral palsy but there are many children with the condition who also experienced birth injuries that led to oxygen deprivation.

If your newborn child has sustained a birth injury and you believe that it may have been caused by medical negligence, you should seek legal advice from a qualified birth injury lawyer today.

The Seattle personal injury attorneys at Morrow Kidman Tinker Macey-Cushman, PLLC have years of experience representing families harmed by medical malpractice, birth injuries and other personal injuries. We seek justice for patients who have been harmed by preventable medical errors including wrongful death, catastrophic injuries and traumatic brain injuries in Seattle and across Washington State. There are no fees or expenses to file a personal injury case as we only receive payment if we recover damages on your behalf. Do not delay; personal injury claims come with a statute of limitations, which means they must be filed within a certain time frame of the injury.

Call us now at (206) 752-4366 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation with one of our compassionate, experienced Seattle injury lawyers. We are ready to fight for you.