Generally speaking, it is a well-known fact that prescription medications can have a wide array of side effects. Sometimes the side effects don't have any major impact on the person at all, while there are other times when an obvious problem takes place due to the drugs being introduced into the patient's system. This is a problem that becomes especially sad when dealing with birth injuries.
Birth injuries cover a wide spread of seriousness, ranging from minor bruises to various types of palsy and even brain damage. They can leave a child permanently disabled. The difference between a birth injury and a birth defect is critical in any type of a court case, and the main difference is this: a defect is something the fetus was afflicted with before birth, while an injury is damage that would not have occurred if not for medical negligence or damage that occurred during treatment (like Erb's palsy or a negative reaction to drugs used to treat a post-birth injury).
One of the major problems that come up with medications is that medications the mother takes while pregnant can have a direct effect on the baby, even before he or she is born.
Sometimes Medication Is Necessary Early
There is also the fact that just by the nature of being a young and vulnerable, a baby just doesn't have any experience taking drugs, and therefore a baby’s immune system very vulnerable.
Depending on the type of injury, you may find early on that there are medications for birth injuries that can help out the infant or small child being treated. While this is never an ideal situation, it is certainly better than the alternative.
Anti-cholinergics are one type of birth injury medication that are fairly common when a baby has issues with tremors, uncontrollable spasms, unnatural muscle stiffness, and general movements of the body which are unnatural and seem uncontrollable as if by reflex.
In certain cases, these medications can also help with a series of other very specific issues that some newborn infants may have. Several types of anti-cholinergics are commonly prescribed for a variety of cerebral palsy symptoms.
For the safety of the child, you may find the anti-convulsants must be used, as well. Convulsions are always potentially dangerous, even more so with newborn babies.
In addition to these two common types of birth injury medicines and depending on the specific situation you may also find stool softeners, pain management medications, anti-inflammatory medications, and even occasionally Botox.
How Do You Know When Your Child Needs Medicine?
You will have to rely on the doctors and medical professionals to make sure your newly born infant is getting the treatment that he or she deserves and desperately needs. While not all birth injuries will require medication as part of the treatment, it is common enough that you need to be aware that this is a potential need.
What about Legal Recourse?
The most important thing to prove in a medical malpractice case based on birth injuries is that the child's condition or injury is a direct result of medical action or negligence, and it was not a birth defect. Depending on the exact condition, this can be extremely difficult to prove in a court of law.
However, by hiring a high-quality medical malpractice attorney, you have an experienced professional who knows how to provide you with the information and legal counsel you need to guide you through this difficult process. You are going to have plenty on your mind as it is; make sure you have a professional handle the legal matters so you can concentrate on what's most important.
