If your child has experienced a birth injury, you may feel a combination of stress, fear and anger. However, there is a chance that your child will make a full and quick recovery from the injury. Even if that is not the case, how you respond to the setback will play a critical role in both your life and your child’s life.
Think of the Injury as a Chance to Learn
Right now, your child is too young to know that he or she may not live a normal life. As a parent, it is your job to treat your child just like you would one without any physical limitations. Taking the time to learn about the injury and its effects may enable you to become a stronger advocate for your child and a stronger advocate for other parents who are going through a similar situation.
You Can’t Change What Happened
Most likely, you didn’t do anything to cause your baby’s injury. Therefore, you can’t spend your time dwelling on what could have been or spend time blaming yourself for something that you didn’t cause. As long as your baby is alive and has a chance to live a productive life, you need to focus on providing everything it needs to succeed.
Rest and Rehab May Resolve the Matter
If your baby experiences an injury such as shoulder dystocia, it may be fixed through a combination of rest and rehab. Ideally, you will start the rehab process as soon as possible to help your child regain a fuller range of motion. It may also be possible to fix the issue through surgery or other means if physical therapy and time aren’t sufficient.
Pursue Compensation
Assuming that the hospital or the doctor who delivered your baby were negligent in causing the birth injury, it may be worth seeking compensation.This may make it easier to pay for your baby’s medical care going forward, which could minimize the damage caused because your child was hurt.
There are few feelings in life worse than knowing that your child has been hurt. However, the worst thing that you can do is let your anger or frustration get the best of you. By staying positive, you can provide your child with the highest possible quality of life. It also allows you to channel your energy into finding solutions to the problem instead of compounding the issues that you and your child already face.