Despite extensive medical advancements over the centuries, childbirth still remains a tenuous, oftentimes difficult process. While medicine gives us new ways to see a child developing in the womb or testing for problems over the course of a pregnancy, deliveries can still be filled with challenges. When a child who…
Labor and delivery can be difficult for any mother, even in the best circumstances. Unfortunately, this arduous experience is made even more challenging when the child suffers injuries during a traumatic birth. Birth trauma is a sweeping term used to describe any fractures, cuts or other birth injuries a newborn…
Part of the pregnancy process involves creating a birth plan for the mother that documents her preferences for how the delivery will be handled. Birth plans often take into account any health concerns surrounding the pregnancy, as well as any previous difficulties the mother has experienced with delivering a child,…
As part of our work connecting parents with a wide variety of helpful resources aimed at helping children with Cerebral Palsy, we hear a wide range of stories about how the child’s brain injury occurred. Just as some have a very clear ‘smoking gun’ of sorts based upon an infection,…
A lot of complicated medical terms are thrown around to describe causes of Cerebral Palsy. Asphyxia is often a common phrase used but is confusing to many because of how they associate the term with life. Modern dramas on TV will list ‘asphyxia’ as the cause of death when someone…
On our blog, we like to simplify complex medical terms in order to help parents better understand their child’s diagnosis and/or potential factors in their child’s health. The term hypoxia is relatively short, yet it involves a very serious situation with a long-standing impact on the health of a child….
The news has shone new light on a dangerous virus known as Zika in recent weeks. Transmitted by mosquitoes in the Western Hemisphere, the Zika virus can lead to symptoms including fever, vomiting, fatigue, headache, chills, rash, loss of appetite, red eyes and joint pain. However, the danger this virus…
Beyond being a mouthful of a medical term, cephalopelvic disproportion (also known as “CPD”) is a critical circumstance that is extremely important to address. Taking place during labor, CPD occurs at a critical time for both mother and child. When a medical professional fails to take proper action in the…
An Apgar score is something most everyone has heard of, but may never fully understand its relevance or value. Used to describe your child’s condition upon delivery, an Apgar score is the first true assessment of a child’s health. Because it has universal components to it aimed at allowing all…
If you have a child with special needs, you have likely been inundated with medical terminology that can be nearly impossible to understand. While conditions like Cerebral Palsy can have a wide assortment of related symptoms and diagnoses, there are also additional terms that can tell a very important story…
