Birth injuries in England have risen in recent years with many parents suffering from poor quality care. According to research by Been Let Down, 484,000 birth complications were recorded in the year 2021/22, showing how huge the impact is.
Types of birth injuries vary in severity and can affect either the mother or baby or both.
What are the most common birth injuries?
According to data, the most common birth complication was foetal hypoxia. This happens when a baby is deprived of oxygen and, in severe cases, this can lead to brain damage.
Other leading birth injuries include avoidable pain, stillbirth, fatality and psychological damage. Cerebral palsy and Erb’s palsy make up hundreds of claims relating to birth injuries.
While in some cases birth injuries are unavoidable, there have been many situations where complications that led to such injuries were due to negligence. In these cases, many parents have gone on to make medical negligence claims which have resulted in a total of 64% of NHS claims relating to maternity issues.
As Helen Neville, Deputy Head of Clinical Negligence at Been Let Down said: “As with any sort of medical care or procedure, complications are going to arise and inevitably these will sometimes have tragic consequences. However, parents shouldn’t be left to bear the lifelong burden of medical negligence – no matter what the underlying cause might be.”
What are the main issues?
According to the Care Quality Commission, 10% of maternity services are rated as inadequate. And, while there are multiple hospitals and trusts that have a high number of birth injury reports, including Liverpool’s Women’s Hospital and Shefield Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust, it’s unclear whether this is due, in part, to the high volume of deliveries.
But, regardless of the area, common issues are a lack of prompt treatment and delays in diagnosis. These accounted for the top claim numbers with inappropriate treatment and inadequate nursing care also featuring as causes of birth injuries.
High staff turnover cannot be excluded as a contributing factor with many midwives choosing to leave their NHS career after only a few years. This results in a lack of experienced professionals and parents with a lack of support.
Increasing claims
According to research, the most money has been paid out for brain damage claims and Cerebral palsy and have cost the NHS over £2 billion. While there are schemes and investigations into specific trusts that seek to uncover the reasons behind high claims volumes, more needs to be done to encourage midwives to stay in their positions and to properly support new parents.
This means adequate training, a commitment to reducing the pressures faced by NHS staff and sustainable working conditions.