Birth injuries can harm both the mother and the baby. Childbirth is itself a very painful process before the child sees the world and its mum’s happy face. The birth injuries guide is aimed at exploring the causes of birth injuries and providing solutions to the issue.
According to Sydney based physiotherapist Heba Shahid, Co-Founder of the Pelvic Expert and herself a mother who has treated over 2000 women, childbirth is more than just a painful experience. It is a hell of an ordeal for the mother. It is, therefore, essential to give prenatal education to women making them aware of the causes and types of birth injuries to protect themselves and the newborns from future sufferings.
Birth injuries can be severe and around half of the first-time mothers will develop prolapsed pelvic organ. This leads to pain and involuntary voiding of the urinary bladder. Different types of birth injuries can cause brachial plexus injury, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, cephalohematoma and intellectual disorder in infants.
Birth injuries guide can save mothers from painful blemishes:
Depending on how old they are, almost 20 % to 50 % of women tear their pelvic floor muscles during childbirth giving them a harrowing experience for the rest of their lives. The sorry plight of mothers is heightened by the prohibitory nature of the suffering for its location around the pelvic region. They hardly come out with problems faced, closing avenues for remedy. Birth injuries guide needs to explore this sensitive area as well.
A survey was conducted selecting over 800 women and asking them if they liked to know about risk factors linked to pelvic floor issues before giving birth. 85 % of candidates agreed while around 2% refused, saying that knowledge would scare them. It was a long-standing conviction among doctors that informing would-be-mothers of birth injuries would have a panic effect, but Heba Shahid’s survey proves otherwise. Women felt more empowered during child delivery with all the available information and could prepare themselves to get the best outcome.
The probable causes of birth injuries:
This, generally, stems from errors by inexperienced medical staffs or from improper attention during child delivery. Other causes may be as follows:
- Faulty use of birth assisting devices like forceps or vacuum extraction tools.
- Incorrect medication during pregnancy and labor.
- Pulling or twisting the infant in a sort of rough handling during delivery.
- Not being able to conduct an emergency cesarean.
Apart from medical negligence, birth injuries can also be a consequence of the following factors:
- Abnormal position of the baby making delivery difficult.
- Size of the mother is too small compared to the infant which is too big.
- Premature babies often pose threat to smooth delivery.
The long-lasting effect of birth injuries on infants:
The following damages may plague the quality of life of the infant in future:
- Strength and stamina wane.
- Nerves lose sensation.
- Cognitive damage becomes apparent.
- A decline in bone health with osteoporosis and joint dysfunction setting in.
- Emotional breakdown is often encountered.
How to prevent birth injuries?
With the help of the birth injuries guide, as a would-be-mom, you can perform certain essential exercises to strengthen pelvic floor strong and avoid damage during childbirth:
- Contract and lift the pelvic floor as you exhale alternated by a relaxed loosening of muscles during inhalation.
- Activate your pelvic floor by contraction of muscle that you do to stop peeing.
- Exercises that make your buttocks powerful – squats, pelvic bridges, and lunges are of great help. Do them with regularity. While doing these exercises, they need to squeeze the pelvic floor.
- Involve your abdominal muscles embedded deep along with pelvic floor contraction as you exhale. Push the lower abdomen towards the spine.
The cost involved in birth injuries:
The birth injuries guide would remain incomplete if few words related to treatment expenses arising from birth injuries are not highlighted. According to reports of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the expense for treating cerebral palsy alone is around one million USD. For infants suffering from hearing impairment after birth, it is around $ 400000 USD. For vision impairment, it is about $ 500000.
Birth injuries to mother not only leads to serious long-lasting physical damages, but also the postpartum period becomes a nightmare for her. Would-be-mothers should see a female physiotherapist at least once during the term and after eight weeks of child delivery. Women should brush aside the stigma and come out freely to discuss their post delivery problems instead of suffering in silence.