If you or someone you love has just experienced a traumatic birth involving a birth injury, there’s a lot to think about and do during these challenging times. Between trying to figure out how to adjust to a diagnosis like cerebral palsy or Erb’s palsy and wondering if you should seek advice on legal options from a birth injury attorney for a medical malpractice claim, it can be overwhelming to know where to start when trying to heal from a birth injury.
The good news is that you and your loved ones don’t have to go through your birth injury alone. There are support groups, mental health professionals, and birth injury attorneys all ready and willing to help—no matter where you are in the United States. If you’re not sure what to do after a birth injury, here are a few things you should know about not only the birth injuries themselves but how you can get help.
Birth injuries can take a serious toll on mental wellness.
Many people don’t realize what a huge impact a birth injury can have on the entire family. Something as simple as a doctor’s negligence can cause a brain injury and brain damage that you and your family will be left to handle long after the delivery doctor is no longer in practice. Most people experience depression symptoms shortly following a traumatic birth and birth injury.
If you or your loved one is dealing with symptoms of depression on top of trying to work with a treatment team on interventions for their baby who was injured during the delivery process, it might be a good idea to take time away to look into depression therapy. Many parents struggle with the idea of getting psychotherapy for sadness, hopelessness, and grief over the loss of a normal life. However, the truth is that if you take time to handle the symptoms of major depression, you’ll be in a better position to take care of your child’s needs for the long term. That is, in taking care of your own mental well-being, you’ll be better able to care for your child.
Grief therapists can work with parents who’ve been party to a childbirth injury the same way they might someone with bipolar disorder. Able to help you untangle your feelings around your child’s injury and to give you tools through therapeutic modalities like Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT), these trained mental health professionals can help you through the struggles ahead with or without antidepressants.
Legal help is available for you.
Another important thing to understand about birth injuries is that psychologists, therapists, and psychiatrists aren’t the only ones who can be there for you. Birth injury attorneys with years of experience in every type of birth injury are only a simple Google search away. While they can’t help you with the treatment of depression, they can ensure you have better peace of mind moving forward. Able to help you get a favorable verdict in a medical malpractice claim, they will work hard to get you fair compensation for you or your child’s serious injury if it was due to medical error or negligence. Experienced birth injury lawyers can even calculate what you’ll need to pay for things like shoulder dystocia, umbilical cord injuries, and birth injuries from oxygen deprivation, no matter what their severity.
Maybe you live in Chicago and are worried that talking to a birth injury attorney in Chicago will mean you’re committed to filing a malpractice claim or that doing so will impact your insurance company or healthcare provider negatively. The truth is that most birth injury attorneys will give you a free consultation to go over your legal options, which means that you can get legal advice at no cost to you at all. They’ll be able to take a look at your medical bills and offer suggestions for best outcomes, too. At the same time, you won’t be committed to hiring a birth injury attorney until you are comfortable, if at all.
There is hope after a birth injury.
Regardless of whether you plan to see a therapist or work with a personal injury lawyer for fair compensation, you should also be aware that there are support groups out there for birth injury parents. What may feel like a huge task to take on now could feel as simple as lifestyle changes down the road. If you’re struggling with the road ahead, consider joining an online group for parents with disabled children. There, you’ll quickly learn that there is hope after a birth injury and that quality of life and peace of mind can still be a part of your story.