Celebral Palsy ‘More Likely’ in Babies Following Night Time Births

Recent research from the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology has found babies born during the night time are at significantly greater risk of suffering from cerebral palsy than those born in the day.

Academics looked at data from 2 million births over 14 years in California hospitals, and discovered children born between 10pm and 4am have a 22% increased chance of suffering from both neonatal encephalopathy – associated with a lack of oxygen in the hours and minutes before delivery – and cerebral palsy.

Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term used to describe a set of neurological conditions that affect a child’s co-ordination and movement, and results from damage to the brain before, during or shortly after birth.

The condition can be caused by a number of different problems, such as infection in early pregnancy, bleeding in the child’s brain, abnormal brain development or a difficult of premature birth.

However, those conducting this study took time to note that there is no specific reason for the increased risk during these specified hours. Instead, they stated it should be attributed to the fact that low staffing levels, medical mistakes and the unavailability of experienced members of staff are more likely to occur at night.

Commenting on the findings of the report, medical negligence expert and lawyer at Darbys Solicitors LLP Richard Money-Kyrle said: “While we welcome any research carried out into cerebral palsy in children, it is unfortunate to see that this correlation is largely down to the medical negligence of attending professionals.”

He added: “However, we have known from our extensive experience working to retrieve compensation for patients affected by such negligence that this has long been an issue in UK hospitals.”

Darbys Solicitors LLP is a leading UK law firm with expert solicitors providing a wide range of legal services. For more information on medical negligence compensation claims relating to cerebral palsy in babies, visit the company’s dedicated website: http://www.darbysmedicalnegligence.co.uk

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Richard Money-Kyrle

Medical Negligence Solicitor

Darbys Solicitors LLP

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