Oregon Birth Injury Lawyers Share How to Prevent Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy is one of the most catastrophic personal injuries and birth injuries that an individual could suffer. Also known as CP, cerebral palsy is a disorder or a group of disorders affecting the motor ability of an individual. Cerebral palsy is caused during childhood when the brain is rapidly developing. Damage to the brain at this juncture results in lesions throughout the brain. When the lesions in the brain are caused to the basal ganglia or cerebellum, cerebral palsy is likely to result. These lesions are permanent it cannot be cured, although sometimes physical therapy may lessen the disability from lesions. Our Oregon birth injury lawyers know that families will had a child diagnosed with cerebral palsy are facing uphill battle. But this does not mean that they are alone. Further, there are some ways how to prevent cerebral palsy. However, there is no way to guarantee cerebral palsy will not be caused due to birth complications.
There are some ways to ensure that your child has a better chance of not developing cerebral palsy. These are ways to lower a child’s risk factors for causing lesions in the brain. These factors are important to know during pregnancy and during the child birthing process known as labor and delivery. Understanding some of these tips how to prevent cerebral palsy may help you and your family avoid catastrophic or egregious just misconduct by healthcare providers. Additionally, knowing these tips may also help you limit your child’s risks in ways that you can control.
Preventing Cerebral Palsy During Pregnancy
There are several ways that a mother and father can reduce or prevent cerebral palsy during pregnancy. Many of these factors and tips are simply good parenting and commonsense. However, not everyone is a natural parent and some people do not have the same means as others. This makes presenting the information online any form such as this important to protect the rights of families and their children. Some of the most important tips how to prevent cerebral palsy during pregnancy include the following:
- Avoid exposure to dangerous viruses like Zika, West Nile, or Coronavirus
- Get vaccinated before trying to get pregnant for some of the more common diseases or illnesses like the flu
- Control underlying Health complications before trying to get pregnant and during pregnancy such as managing blood pressure and diabetes aggressively and properly
- Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, illicit drugs, and any other types of medications which may pose risk to babies during pregnancy
- Avoid dangerous or risky activities, and
- Many other common causes.
Preventing Cerebral Palsy During Labor and Delivery
While preventing cerebral palsy during the pregnancy is important, the real way how to prevent cerebral palsy is during the labor and delivery process. This is when there is the most stress on the mother and the baby which could result in lesions to the baby’s brain. These lesions to the baby’s brain commonly are caused by hypoxic or anoxic injuries. These are injuries that are caused by either a deficiency in oxygen or a complete lack of oxygen to the baby. Therefore, an important way to prevent cerebral palsy is to ensure a constant and strong supply of oxygen to the baby.
This it is important to do the following to help reduce the risks of cerebral palsy to a baby:
- Ensure there is proper fetal heart rate monitoring
- Ensure there is proper maternal heart rate monitoring
- Advise healthcare providers when ever you feel a material change in how are your pregnancy is feeling, such as a new pain or a new sensation which you may not be sure of what it is
- Avoid relying too much on pain killers and Pitocin during the labor and delivery process
- Have attentive healthcare providers, especially the nurses
- Rely on the guidance of your family care practitioner but do not be afraid to get your OB/GYN involved
- Do not resist a C-section if you are advise it is the best option
- Ensure that you remain well hydrated
- Do not become overly stressed, although that can be very difficult during the labor and delivery process which is completely understandable
- Make sure healthcare providers are properly charting the baby’s progress through the birth canal
- If there are any monitoring alarms that go off, make sure healthcare providers know about it immediately and take action, and
- Many other common causes.
It is Impossible to Prevent Cerebral Palsy, But These Tips Can Help
Although it is impossible to prevent cerebral palsy, understanding these important tips does make it less likely that your child will suffer injuries resulting in cerebral palsy. Again, the main cause of cerebral palsy is in anoxic or hypoxic injury to the baby. As long as you ensure that your oxygen saturation rate and the baby’s oxygen saturation rates are well-maintained, you are already lowering the risk of cerebral palsy.
If you or a loved one have been seriously injured or killed as a result of medical malpractice contact the Oregon Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Kuhlman Law at our number below or fill out the intake form. We offer a free initial case evaluation and handle cases on a contingency fee which means that you pay no money unless we recover.
Our law firm handles cases throughout the state including Bend and Portland Oregon, Redmond, Central Oregon, Sisters, Madras, Multnomah County, Deschutes County, Salem, Eugene, Corvallis, Lane County, Medford, Gresham, La Grande, Albany, Medford, Beaverton, Umatilla, Pendleton, Cottage Grove, Florence, Oregon City, Springfield, Keizer, Grants Pass, McMinnville, Tualatin, West Linn, Forest Grove, Wilsonville, Newberg, Roseburg, Lake Oswego, Klamath Falls, Happy Valley, Tigard, Ashland, Milwakie, Coos Bay, The Dalles, St. Helens, Sherwood, Central Point, Canby, Troutdale, Hermiston, Silverton, Hood River, Newport, Prineville, Astoria, Tillamook, Lincoln City, Hillsboro, and Vancouver, Washington.
We also have an office in Minneapolis, Minnesota and take medical malpractice cases throughout the Twin Cities, including St. Paul, Hennepin County, Ramsey County, Dakota County, Washington County, Anoka County, Scott County, Blaine, Stillwater, and Saint Paul Minnesota.
Please act quickly, there is a limited time (Statute of Limitations) in which you can bring a claim under the law.
