Pregnancy can take a toll on parents in so many ways, and those ways get magnified during the birth process. Of course, everyone hopes and prays for a straightforward, safe, and healthy birth for both the mother and child. Nevertheless, the sad truth is that there are a lot of ways that things can go south during a birth. While some birth complications are simply the revelation of congenital defects, others are a result of medical malpractice.
As dire as that can sound, it’s important to keep that fact in mind if you or your partner are dealing with the repercussions of a traumatic birth. There are so many ways that birth trauma can impact a family unit, and it’s crucial to have a way forward in these sorts of situations. From speaking with an experienced team of birth injury attorneys about the negligence that may have caused a birth injury to finding new forms of self-care, the following tips will help you face a traumatic birth head-on.
Consult with a lawyer.
First and foremost, it’s pivotal to speak with an attorney if you think that negligent medical professionals may have been behind your infant’s birth injury. Due to the fact that most deliveries occur with the baby emerging from the birth canal headfirst, there’s actually a variety of birth injuries that can be inflicted to a child’s head, shoulders, and neck. Brain injuries and shoulder dystocia are just a few of the types of serious injuries that can be inflicted on an infant during the birthing process. In these sorts of situations, a medical malpractice lawsuit may be worth pursuing.
Medical malpractice cases can often take on a highly technical progression, since the birthing process and proving medical negligence or medical malpractice often involves outside experts. As such, it’s a good idea to find a local attorney to handle your birth injury case, since they’ll have more confidence and experience handling medical records and lawsuits in your city. If you live in Cook County in Illinois, it may make sense to consult with a birth injury attorney in Chicago who has years of experience handling personal injury lawsuits with a focus on the practice area of birth injuries.
Practice self-care.
Dealing with the physical defects your child is now facing due to medical errors can be exhausting. Even though some of the most common birth injuries aren’t necessarily life-threatening, they can still affect the way you have to raise your child. As a result, you may find that your newborn is even more work than you’d initially bargained for. You may want to practice self-care each week in order to find a routine that keeps your mind off of the traumatic delivery process and allows you to unwind and de-stress. Taking a long bath before hopping in a comfortable pair of pajama pants can help you relax at the end of a long day. These sorts of comforting tasks can even result in better sleep, providing you with more energy to face the next day.
Speak with a psychiatrist.
Of course, there’s a mental toll that comes from coping with birth problems as well as pursuing birth injury litigation. Without addressing this extra weight, you may also struggle to find a new normal. As a result, if you’ve had a traumatic birth injury of any severity, it’s often in your best interest to schedule regular sessions with a psychiatrist or counselor. Speaking with a trained professional can provide you with compassion and a variety of strategies for regaining a sense of normalcy in a way that talking to family members may not be able to provide. There are hundreds of healthcare professionals in the Chicago area focused on this kind of work, so it shouldn’t be hard to start speaking with someone in a timely manner.
