If your child has experienced complications around birth, and you're worried about their development, you may be feeling overwhelmed, uncertain, and looking for answers. You're not alone and support is available.

At Switalskis, we work with families whose children have suffered birth injuries due to medical negligence. This guide is here to help you understand what birth injuries are, what signs to look out for, and what steps you can take if you believe your child has been affected.

What Is a Birth Injury?

A birth injury is a physical or neurological injury that happens before, during or just after birth. These injuries can affect how your child grows and develops, both physically and mentally.

Some birth injuries are unavoidable. But sadly, others are caused by mistakes in care such as delays during labour or a failure to act on warning signs. In these cases, the injury may have been preventable.

How Common Are Birth Injuries?

A review of maternity services by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in 2024 found that almost half (47%) of UK maternity units need improvement to ensure mothers and babies are safe.

This highlights how important it is for parents and carers to feel confident in asking questions, raising concerns, and seeking legal advice when something doesn’t feel right.

Signs of a Birth Injury: What Should I Look Out For?

Birth injuries can sometimes be spotted straight away, but more often, signs appear as your child grows and begins to miss key developmental milestones.

Here are some signs that may indicate your child has experienced a birth-related injury:

Physical Development Delays

• Your baby may be slower to roll over, sit, crawl or walk.
• They may struggle with coordination or muscle tone.
• Movements may seem jerky or less controlled.

Speech and Language Delays

• Lack of babbling, sounds or simple words.
• Difficulties swallowing or feeding.
• Trouble engaging with others or responding to instructions.

Cognitive or Learning Difficulties

• Trouble solving problems or remembering things.
• Difficulty focusing or processing new information.

If you're noticing any of these signs, it doesn’t automatically mean there’s been a birth injury, but it’s important to speak to your GP or health visitor for advice.

What Can Cause a Birth Injury?

Birth injuries can happen for many reasons. Some of the most common causes linked to negligence include:

Complications in Assisted Birthing: The incorrect use of birthing assistance tools such as forceps and suction cup vacuums. A baby’s head is susceptible to trauma if these tools are not used correctly. Typical injuries include skull fractures and bleeding within the brain or in the layers between the brain and the skull.

Inadequate Monitoring: Monitoring of both mother and baby is crucial for promptly identifying signs of distress and acting accordingly. Untreated infections in both the mother and baby can lead to avoidable inflammation and brain damage. Infections during pregnancy and premature births are common risk factors for developmental delay.

Birthing Complications: Inadequate monitoring can also lead to birthing complications such as failure to address mother and baby’s position, leading to a high risk labour where the baby continues down the canal in a breech position.

Failure to Intervene : Such as a failure to proceed to caesarean section in the required time, increasing foetal distress. Prolonged labour that progresses slower than expected, usually due to stalled dilation of the cervix or slow descent of the baby

Oxygen deprivation: Compressed umbilical cords, pre-eclampsia and early separation of the placenta from the uterus wall can restrict the level of oxygen reaching the baby’s brain (neonatal asphyxia), which increases the risk of brain injury.

Types of Birth Injury You Might Hear About

If you’re speaking to a healthcare provider or legal team, you might come across some of these terms:

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE): Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a brain injury that can occur when a baby’s brain does not received the required levels of oxygen and blood flow, usually during the birthing process, or shortly after.

Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL): Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) is a type of brain damage where areas of the brain are injured or die, typically following premature birth.

Subdural Hematoma: Subdural hematoma is a where a collection of blood sits between the surface of the brain and the skull, this type of injury is usually associated with subsequent brain injury.

Cerebral Palsy: Cerebral palsy (‘CP’) occurs as a result of damage to the developing brain, commonly lack of oxygen, head trauma, failures to recognise and act promptly to birthing complications and infections such as Meningitis. The damage to the brain is permanent and affects the areas of the brain responsible for movement, posture and muscle control. CP often involves some level of intellectual disability and issues with speech and language are prevalent. Delays in a child’s ability to reach key milestones are often one of the earliest indicators of CP.

These diagnoses can sound frightening, but with the right care and support, many children go on to lead fulfilling lives.

What Should I Do If I Suspect a Birth Injury?

The first step is to trust your instincts. If you believe your child’s development has been affected and that mistakes were made during pregnancy or birth, you may wish to:

1. Speak to your GP or health visitor
   Ask for a developmental assessment or a referral for further tests.
2. Request your maternity and birth records
   You are entitled to see your notes and medical records. These may help clarify what happened.
3. Seek legal advice
   A solicitor who specialises in birth injury cases can help investigate what happened and advise if you may have a compensation claim.

How Can Switalskis Help?

We support parents and carers through what can be an incredibly difficult and emotional journey. If we believe your child’s injury was avoidable, we’ll fight to get the support, therapies, and financial compensation they need.

This includes:

• Giving those affected by birth injuries and developmental delay/disabilities access to the best possible rehabilitation, whether that be physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and hydrotherapy (and many more).
• Ensuring funds are obtained to enable access to private treatment and surgery costs, including the costs of care provision.
• Ensuring you have the funds to obtain the necessary accommodation and adaptations to the family home.
• Ensuring a suitable vehicle is accessible and additional travel costs, including those additional costs for holidays are covered.
• Obtaining funding for aids and equipment and assistive technology.

Switalskis offers a free initial consultation to assess potential medical negligence claims, and we aim to contact you within 24 hours of receiving your enquiry.

We are committed to providing personalised support throughout the process, ensuring our clients fully understand each step and feel secure in their representation. We have a large team of passionate advocates who provide guidance and support to families during this challenging period

If you or a loved one has been affected by birth injury, contact our specialist birth injury claims team on 0800 1380 458 or email help@switalskis.com