Birth trauma is often caused by mechanical force, but it can also be caused by the overuse of delivery drugs, mismanaged abnormal presentation, and other complications. Doctors can avoid birth trauma by following best care practices and skillfully handling labor and delivery complications (1).
Head injury is the most common birth-related injury. Head molding is not an injury. Molding refers to the normal change in shape of the baby's head that results from pressure on the head during delivery. In most births, the head is the first part to enter the birth canal.
In most cases, what makes birth traumatic is the fear that you or your baby are going to die. We very often see birth trauma in women who have lost a lot of blood, for example, or who had to have an emergency caesarean because their baby's heartrate suddenly dipped.
Any event that causes a mother distress during or following her childbirth is considered birth trauma. Mothers and babies alike can face long-lasting traumatic effects from a number of commonplace actions and birth injuries, including: Being taken away from a mother right after birth. Caesarian section.
Birth trauma occurs when a baby's organs or tissues are damaged during a difficult delivery. A traumatic birth can lead to lasting medical problems in the infant, such as brachial plexus injuries, brain damage, and more.
Beyond such obvious triggers as war and terrorism, exposure to domestic violence, natural disasters such as a house fire, physical abuse and community violence are examples of experienced events that can be traumatic for infants, experts say.
The shock of what happened during the birth process can bring about a number of mental health issues, including anxiety, depression, and other disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Some people experience severe emotional distress after a traumatic birth even though there was no physical trauma.
We know that up to 1 in 3 mums experience the birth of their baby as traumatic. This trauma can result from what happens during labour and childbirth, but also how a mum feels about her birthing experience.
Uterine rupture: Enlargement of the uterus makes it susceptible to direct abdominal trauma. This rare complication is estimated to complicate 0.6% of traumatic injury. Uterine rupture is associated with a fetal mortality rate approaching 100%.
It is important to note that autism is not a birth injury or brain injury. However, many birth injuries such as cerebral palsy are primarily caused by damage to the brain during childbirth. Children with autism have structural differences in their brains, including abnormalities of the brain's white matter.
A traumatic childbirth could cause psychological distress, intense fear, or helplessness for the parturient and increases the risk of anxiety, depression and even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) [1, 2].
Traumatic Birth Injuries.
Commonly, the outcomes are similar to oxygen deprivation, in that CP, developmental delays, and other impairments often result.
For instance, curled hands, muscle stiffness, arms or hands bending towards the body, an absence of reflexes, favoring one side of the body, fractures of any kind or weak movements may also be clear indicators that a baby has suffered a birth trauma.
“Early pre- and post-natal experiences, including early trauma, are encoded in the implicit memory of the fetus, located in the subcortical and deep limbic regions of the maturing brain.” Much research has found that the limbic system, when interrupted during early developmental stages, can contribute to PTSD and ...
“Infants are fairly resilient, but we are concerned about harm when yelling out of anger around an infant or towards an infant happens at a significant level of intensity or commonly in the home,” says Horvitz. “This will likely increase infant anxiety, which overtime may have an impact similar to trauma.”
Symptoms to look out for
These are: Re-experiencing the traumatic event through flashbacks, nightmares or intrusive memories. These make you feel distressed and panicky. Avoiding anything that reminds you of the trauma.
Birth Trauma and Delivery Complications
Birth asphyxia is associated with a 26% greater risk of developing ADHD, while neonatal respiratory distress syndrome is associated with a 47% greater risk for ADHD, according to a 2012 study of more than 13,500 children with ADHD.
Birth injuries, like trauma to the neck and back of the head from forceps, vacuum extractors, or excessive force when removing the baby from the birth canal, may negatively impact the senses and other critical bodily functions.
Birth injury brain damage. Head and brain injuries are the most common birth-related injuries. Brain damage caused by an injury before, during, or after delivery can cause a child to suffer lifelong physical and/or mental disabilities. In severe cases, it can lead to cerebral palsy.
Trauma can seriously disrupt important aspects of child development that occur before the age of three years. These may include relationship and bonding with parents, as well as foundational development in the areas of language, mobility, physical and social skills and managing emotions.
Summary: Researchers found idiopathic autism occurs as the result of epigenetic abnormalities in hematopoietic cells during fetal development, leading to immune dysregulation in the brain and gut.
There is some evidence to suggest that brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation at birth may increase an infant's risk of developing disorders such as autism. A recent study in the US estimated that complications at birth may increase the risk of ASD in children by as much as 10%.
Anxiety, hypervigilance, a feeling of being disconnected, overwhelming thoughts, or panic in the days, weeks, or months following the birth are just some of the symptoms you may experience after birth trauma, according to Benjamin.