Virginia mothers want the best care when they go into labor. The good news is that most modern hospitals offer a safe delivery experience. The bad news is mistakes can happen anywhere, to anyone.
Today we will look at Erb’s palsy. This is a type of birth injury that can affect any newborn. Though not always severe, it still causes damage to the child and trauma to the parents. It is important to understand as much about it as possible.
What is Erb’s palsy?
OrthoInfo takes a detailed look at Erb’s palsy, including potential causes of the birth injury. Erb’s palsy is often caused during the birthing process. If a child is stuck, the medical staff may attempt to pull them to help them out. This may also happen if there is a rush to get the child out for health reasons. Unfortunately, if this is not done right, it can stretch a baby’s brachial plexus nerves.
What causes Erb’s palsy?
This is the root cause of Erb’s palsy, which is a type of brachial plexus palsy. When the nerves here face damage, it affects the entire arm. Everything from the shoulder to the hand may suffer. Sometimes, the child cannot lift their arm at all. Other times, they keep a small range of motion. The feeling in the affected limb may change, too. Sometimes, a victim feels tingling. Other times, their arm may grow numb.
The prognosis for Erb’s palsy is good. But it is still traumatizing to parents for their newborn to end up injured. Sometimes, the damage is unavoidable. In other cases, it may result from negligence among staff.
