Immediately after your child is born, the doctors will administer the Apgar test. It is a simple and quick means of assessing the health of the child. There are 5 categories; each is ranked on a scale from 0-2, thus, total Apgar scores range from 0 – 10. They examine skin color, heart rate, reflex irritability, muscle tone, and respiration. These are the first indications of birth defects or birth injuries.

Recognizing other birth injuries is often fairly easy. There may be bruising, swelling, or unnatural bumps on the head or body of the baby. Paralysis of the face can be seen when the infant cries but some of the face remains still. Signs of cerebral palsy include a difficulty or inability to roll, reach, hold, sit, crawl, walk, see, hear, or speak. Seizures are another obvious sign that something is wrong. Abnormalities in the infant’s heartbeat (too fast, too slow, irregular), Mecomium Leakage (fetal feces), and low levels of blood PH all may also indicate some injury or defect. If you suspect that your child was injured you should immediately alert your physician and consult a birth injury attorney.