New Jersey Birth Injury Lawyers and Cerebral Palsy Attorneys - Practice Areas

Birth Injuries & Cerebral Palsy

Concerned about a Birth Injury or Cerebral Palsy from your pregnancy in New Jersey? The Lawyers at Andres & Berger P.C.want to make sure you have this valuable information. There are many routine tests and procedures that should be performed by competent medical providers in New Jersey during pregnancy to evaluate both the health and progress of your baby. These tests are important but improper or careless treatment may result in Birth Injury, such as Cerebral Palsy and others. These tests include a pelvic exam, calculation of the gestational age of the baby, measurement of your weight and blood pressure, tests of a sample of your urine to look for protein and sugar in the urine, measurement of the height of the fundus (top of your uterus), determination of the size and position of the baby, test of a sample of your urine to look for bacteria in the urine, blood tests to check for anemia, blood tests to check for diabetes when you are 28 weeks pregnant, blood tests for blood type and Rh antibodies, blood test to check for syphilis, cultures of cells from your cervix to test for infection, blood test for hepatitis, examination of your ankles and lower legs for swelling, an alpha-fetoprotein blood test to screen for certain birth defects and sometimes a triple test, which provides more accurate screening for birth defects by including tests for human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and unconjugated estradiol (UE) with the test for alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), ultrasound scans to look at the baby and your uterus, and a nonstress tests to check the health of the baby by the heart rate when the baby moves.

Women with high risk factors may have additional tests and procedures, such as chorionic villus sampling (CVS) from the placenta and amniocentesis for information about your baby's chromosomes and detection of some birth defects, repeated Rh antibody screening at 28 to 30 weeks with a shot of Rho(D) immune globulin if you are Rh negative, blood tests for clotting studies or liver function, nonstress tests once or twice a week, biophysical profile and stress tests to check the baby's health by the heart rate during uterine contractions.

If the prenatal care and delivery are not handled properly, a number of life long birth injuries and/or disabilities can occur to the mother and child. One of the most devastating injuries to a child can be the development of cerebral palsy (CP) and/or hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), which are terms used to describe disorders that occur when a baby's brain has been damaged before or during birth. Cerebral Palsy is usually caused by the lack of sufficient oxygen to the baby's brain during the pregnancy, and HIE is usually caused by the lack of sufficient oxygen to the baby's brain during labor and delivery that is difficult or traumatic. The monitoring of the baby's heart rate and response to contractions during labor are watched carefully for signs of the abnormal responses that indicate "fetal distress" caused by lack of oxygen.

Today's prenatal testing with blood testing, ultrasound and chromosomal analysis allows for the identification of a number of birth defects and abnormal fetal conditions. Such information may be important to parents who may not want to carry an abnormal pregnancy to term or to a fetus who may require prenatal treatment to avoid more significant injury during development. Congenital conditions such as Down's syndrome, anencephaly, hydrocephaly, holoprosencephaly and spina bifida can be identified prior to birth so as to allow a mother a choice regarding the pregnancy. Other abnormal conditions, such as placenta previa, placental abruption, intrauterine growth retardation and macrosomia, need to be identified so that they can be managed to lessen the risk of injury to the child.

To schedule a free consultation with our Attorneys regarding a Birth Injury or Cerebral Palsy claim, contact Andres & Berger, P.C., through this Web site.

The law firm of Andres & Berger P.C. is located in South Jersey but because of our outstanding reputation we commonly represent clients throughout the entire state of New Jersey including nut not limited to Camden County, Burlington County, Gloucester County, Atlantic County, Cape May County, Cumberland County, Salem County, Mercer County, Ocean County, Monmouth County, Cherry Hill, Voorhees, Haddonfield, Marlton, Medford, Mt. Holly, Moorestown, Woodbury, Williamstown, Pennsauken, Atlantic City, Wildwood, Hammonton, Vineland, Berlin, Atco, Collingswood, Turnersvile, Glassboro, Washington Township, and Camden.