Preventing birth injuries

Having a baby is supposed to be a joyous time, but for some New York parents, this wonderful time turns into sadness because of a birth injury. According to HealthcareBusinessTech.com, around 30 percent of birth injuries are preventable. Prevention starts with good care plans developed by caregivers.

A group of hospitals came together to start using something called the Premier Perinatal Safety Initiative. Under this initiative, the focus was placed on increasing team communication between all the caregivers working with a pregnant mother. In addition, each team worked using a care bundle, which included a set of four directives. These directives outlined specific things each team must do during the care of the mother. These could be things like performing certain exams before administering medications known to cause complications or carefully assessing the baby’s weight.

Among the hospitals that participated in the initiative, saw a reduction in birth traumas of 22 percent with a 15 percent decrease in injuries to mothers. Claims for injuries went down by 39 percent in a four-year period, too.

Understanding the causes of birth injuries is essential to developing the right care plans. Stanford Children’s Health reported that causes of such injuries were usually a difficult birth. Complications that can lead to labor and delivery issues include prolonged labor, excessive baby weight, the mother having a small pelvis and premature birth before 37 weeks. Many birth injures are minor and will clear up on their own within weeks after birth, but more severe injuries do occur that can cause life-long effects, which is why prevention is so important.