Birth Injury Lawyers - Perinatal Asphyxia

Perinatal asphyxia is oxygen deprivation which harms the baby before, during labor, during delivery, or after the birth. It happens to roughly 2 - 10 out of every 1,000 newborns and usually results from one of the following:

• A sudden drop in the mother’s blood pressure
• The umbilical cord being wrapped around the baby’s neck
• The baby being in the birth canal too long
• The baby not receiving the necessary oxygen to preserve brain or organ function

If these conditions occur and a physician fails to monitor the situation appropriately or take action immediately (e.g. perform an emergency C-section), the baby can suffer serious injury to its organs, brain damage and even cardiac arrest or death. When this happens, it is considered medical negligence.

Symptoms of Perinatal Asphyxia

Some common symptoms of perinatal asphyxia are:

• Poor coloring
• Decreased responsiveness
• Low blood pressure
• Impaired respiratory effort
• Abnormal blood gases
• Inadequate oxygenation

Depending on how damaged the organs or brain become, and what areas of the brain were deprived of oxygen, the lifetime effects can vary in severity. The baby might make a full recovery, or might be physically or mentally disabled for life.

If your child was injured by perinatal asphyxia, you should contact the birth injury lawyers of Snyder & Wenner, P.C. immediately. We will protect the rights of your child and ensure the guilty parties are held accountable.

We are proud to represent medical malpractice victims, regardless of where they live. Our office is in the Phoenix, Arizona area, but we can give you a free consultation over the phone if you live elsewhere. Please call or email us to schedule your free consultation, so we can get started working for you.