Forceps are tools that have been used to assist in childbirth since the 1600's.

Short forceps, used in the United Kingdom and the United States, are applied to the fetal head inside the birth canal. The blades of the instrument are locked into place around the skull and the fetal head is rotated to provide a minimal amount of traction during delivery. 

While forceps can be used to avoid caesarean delivery, and take less time, there are a number of birth injuries associated with the tool. An infant may sustain temporary or permanent nerve damage if forceps are applied in the wrong location, or with too much pressure. Facial bruising on the newborn is also common. Skull fractures are not rare either. 

Forceps are a legitimate medical tool; in the hands of an experienced operator, the risk of injury is no higher than with natural intervention-free vaginal delivery. In the wrong hands, however, the instrument can cause serious harm to an infant and its mother.

If your child has been injured by a negligent medical worker, finding an experienced and trustworthy attorney is vital in securing a positive outcome in your case. Please contact a Philadelphia birth injury lawyer of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. by calling 215-238-1130.

A severely disabled man in England has received $3.1 million incompensation from Tameside General Hospital, Greater Manchester where he wasborn.

28 year-old Jonathon Khairule from Coventry has cerebral palsy and canonly communicate by typing on a keyboard with his nose. He settled with thehospital out of court. The hospital has never admitted responsibility andrefused to comment on the case.

Khairule’s successful settlement is viewed as a landmark victorybecause he was granted permission to mount a legal challenge despite being overage 21, the normal limit for birth injury claims.

If your child hassuffered an injury due to the reckless or negligent actions of a medical professionalplease contact the Philadelphia birth injury lawyers of Lowenthal & Abrams,P.C. by calling 215-329-3511.

A woman in England has been awarded $6 million in damagesafter she suffered a seizure in a hospital.

Rebecca Waite was 19 years-old when she went into IpswichHospital to deliver her first child in May 2004. As she waited to have herlabor induced, a midwife advised her to take a bath for pain relief. Theepileptic Mrs. Waite was left unattended in the tub, suffered an epileptic fitand fell below the water.

Hospital staff revived the mother after her partner, PaulBirch, discovered she was not breathing. Waite suffered irreparable braindamage because of the incident and her son, Kyle, who was delivered byemergency Caesarean section, suffered such serious neurological damage that heis not predicted to live past the age of twelve.

If a loved one has suffered a birth injury, please contact a Philadelphia birth injury lawyer of Lowenthal & Abrams by calling215-329-3511.

A birth injury is trauma to a child that occurs duringdelivery. The most common injuries are a result of pressure in the birth canal.

Cerebral palsy is one of the more common results of birth injuries. CPis a chronic disorder that is caused by trauma to the brain during birth orshortly thereafter. The condition causes loss of movement and other nervefunctions.

Cerebral palsy is not what doctors call a progressivecondition, this means that the symptoms do not worsen or improve over time. Theseverity of this condition is determined by the type of damage done to thebrain. A number of medical mistakes can cause cerebral palsy. These mistakesinclude improper use of forcepts or more commonly, leaving the baby in thebirth canal for too long which deprives the newborn of oxygen.

If your child has suffered a birth related injury, pleasecontact the Philadelphia Birth Injury Lawyers of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C.,by calling 215-329-3511.

A study led by faculty of the University of Connecitcut indicates that a traumatic birthing experience can affect a mother's willingness to breastfeed.

In an detailed evaluation of the responses of 52 mothers, Cheryl Beck and her collegues found that birth trauma, which affects up to 9 percent of women, can have serious consequences on how a new mother approaches breastfeeding. The stress of traumatic birth can trigger painful psychological and emotional responses, such as flashbacks and a feeling of alientation from the child, that can significantly reduce a woman's willingness to breastfeed.

Beck suggests that special attention be given to women who may have undergone traumatic birth experiences in order to minimize risk to both her and her infant. Health care professionals are also recommonded to be sensitive to the symptoms of postpartum depression, including withdrawal and apathy, as these may indicate breastfeeding issues.

If you or someone you know has had to deal with the stress of a traumatic birth and you suspect the health care provder may be in some way responsible, contact the Philadelphia birth injury attorneys of Lowenthal & Abrams at 215-329-3511.