25 Surprising Facts About Birth Defect Attorney

What Causes a Birth Defect?

It's the last thing an expecting parents wants to hear: Their child may be born with a defect. These birth defects are caused by the things that happen during the development of the fetus and can affect your child's mental or physical health.

Prenatal screening and newborn screening can be used by a health care provider to determine the presence of certain birth defects during pregnancy. However other birth defects can not be discovered until after your child is born or later, when they begin to show symptoms.

What Caused Your Child's Defect?

Many birth defects are still undiscovered. However, legal there are a few factors that can increase a woman's risk of having a child with defects. This includes using medications or taking certain medications before pregnancy, a history of having a family member who has an abnormal birth or certain medical conditions, like rheumatic heart disease. Women who have an ancestral history of these conditions are advised to consult an expert in genetic counseling prior to becoming pregnant.

The degree to which a birth defect causes serious problems or not will depend on the body part that is affected and how much of the body part affected. Usually, the more severe the defect it, the more serious the problems will be.

The majority of birth defect law firm defects are caused by genetics or the environment during the development of the fetus. You can lessen the risk of a birth deformity by speaking with a genetic counselor, learning about the health history of your family and talking with the geneticist.

Structural defects are birth imperfections that affect how an area of your body appears or performs. They can range from visible such as cleft lips and cleft palate to the invisible, such as metabolic disorders or chromosome problems. Genetic conditions that are passed down through the generations are one kind of structural birth defect while environmental factors, such as the lack of folic acid can cause neural tube defects that cause the spinal cord or brain not developing properly.

Find More Evidence than You Think

There are several medical procedures that pregnant women undergo to learn more about potential birth defects. Amniocentesis is one of them, that involves a doctor taking a small sample of fetal fluid for testing. This procedure could reveal chromosomal variations as well as other health conditions, such as infections (such as rubella or Zika) or genetic anomalies.

A doctor may also test the blood of a fetus as well as amniotic fluid and the umbilical cord for signs of birth defects. These tests are crucial to determining the root of birth defects. They can also assist in determining how severe the birth defect is and the effects it could have on a child's their adult life.

However some birth defects can be missed until a baby is born or, in rare cases, an adult. This is because these conditions aren't easily detected until they are present and may only be recognized with the help of diagnostic equipment. In these instances the medical expert witness must be conversant with the latest technologies and possess the training necessary to be able to spot these flaws. A medical malpractice lawyer with experience should be able identify the most appropriate specialist for your case.

Employ an attorney for Medical Malpractice

When a child is born with a serious birth defect or suffers a devastating birth injury, it can completely turn the world of a family upside down. These injuries can create life-long physical and emotional challenges which often require a lifetime of medical care.

Although medical science has been able to identify the underlying causes behind about 30 percent of birth defects, many others remain a mystery. Research has shown that certain chemicals and substances can cause birth defects, like those present in prescription or over the counter medicines that mothers are prescribed, the toxic chemicals at working in some communities and homes, or in contaminated air and groundwater.

Doctors have a duty to review the pregnant mother's current medications, and advise her of any possible dangers to the foetus. If they fail to perform this obligation, they could be held accountable for birth defects caused by medications.

Doctors are also required to evaluate the safety and efficacy of any equipment or procedure they recommend to pregnant women. This includes x-ray machines, surgical tools, as well as other equipment. If a doctor is negligent in using the equipment, or fails to properly calibrate the equipment it could result in grave consequences for the baby. This would be considered malpractice. It is essential to speak with a medical malpractice lawyer as soon as you can in the event of this happening. In certain states, you only have one year to file a medical malpractice case, so the sooner you start the process the better.

Step 1. Step

Birth defects are the leading cause of infant death. They affect one in 33 babies each year. These conditions can be life-threatening and can trigger lasting physical, cognitive and emotional challenges. Scientists have, in some instances, connected the causes of birth defects to the mother's exposures to prescription and over-the-counter medications, environmental toxins, complications of motherhood, infections, delivery and pregnancy, family medical history, or genetic disorders (like sickle cell disease PKU, or other genetic diseases). In the majority of cases, the cause is unknown.

Some birth defects are easily visible and can be detected at birth or within the first year. Others, like heart defects or developmental and intellectual disabilities are not as obvious and require special tests.

Researchers are attempting to determine what causes birth defects and how some of them can be prevented. For instance, women who smoke or drink alcohol or take illegal drugs during pregnancy increase the chances of having a child with a defect. Women with a history of family members with inherited genetic disorders should consider seeing a genetic counselor prior to trying to become pregnant. They should also utilize the March of Dimes Family Health History form to gather information about medical conditions that run through their families. This information should be shared with their doctor or genetic counselor.