Birth injury

DEFINITION

Birth injury is an injury that occurs during delivery, usually when the baby through the birth canal.

CAUSE

During the delivery process takes place, almost every part of the baby's body can be injured. The birth canal through which the baby is shaped by the mother's pelvis bone. Under normal circumstances, the baby has enough room to pass along the birth canal. But, if the narrow birth canal or if the fetus is large (for example in fetuses of mothers with diabetes), there can be trouble when the baby passes through the birth canal and injury could occur. In addition, birth injuries may also occur if the fetus is in an abnormal position in the womb before birth.

SYMPTOMS

Most injuries are minor and the birth canal can be improved immediately. The most common injury is a bruise. Nevertheless, many other injuries that can occur during childbirth, among others:

- Head and brain injury

Most babies are born with a head-first position, where the head of a lot of pressure during delivery. Bruising and swelling in the baby's scalp is often the case, but it is not serious and will heal within a few days. Head injury or brain weight is more rare.

Some head injuries that can occur:

·         Sefalhematoma, namely the accumulation of blood under a thick layer of one of the bones of the skull. But this situation will disappear within a few weeks or months without treatment.

·         Fracture (fracture) in the skull (very rare) or bleeding in the brain due to rupture of blood vessels in the head. Bleeding that occurs between the brain lining the outside and inside (subdural hemorrhage) can put pressure on the brain. Therefore, subdural hemorrhage needs to be corrected with surgery.

- Injuries In Bones

In rare cases, the bone can fracture (fracture) during delivery difficult. The most frequent bone fractures are the collarbone (clavicula). In addition, the fracture may also occur in the arm bone or femur.

Newborns who suffered a broken bone must be maintained to the extent possible broken parts do not move, ie by splinting or by installing cast. Bone fracture almost always recover completely and quickly.

- Injuries In the Skin and Soft Tissue

Newborn baby's skin can reveal the existence of a minor injury after birth, especially on the parts that get pressure during contractions or when out of the birth canal first.

Bruising and swelling may appear around the eyes and face of labor with the presentation face (which faces out first). Bruising and swelling in the scrotum or labia can occur in breech delivery. However, no treatment is required to overcome this situation.

DIAGNOSIS

Today the incidence of birth injury has been substantially reduced compared with the previous decade. This is caused by the presence of better prenatal care, such as the size of the pelvic examination, examination of the fetus, and ultrasound. Thus, the risk of birth injuries can be reduced.

TREATMENT

Handling birth injury is given in accordance with birth injuries that occur.

PREVENTION

If the pregnancy test results show that the birth canal is too narrow or baby-sized too large to pass through the birth canal, cesarean section should be performed to reduce the possibility of injury to the baby.

REFERENCE

- K, Arthur E. Birth Injury. Merck Manual Home Health Handbook. 2009.