Florida Neonatal Hypoglycemia Birth Injury Lawyer

Cases of Birth Injury in Florida Glucose levels can be critical in the first few days of a newborn’s life, especially if they present at abnormal levels. Neonatal hypoglycemia is the medical term used to describe the condition in which an infant’s glucose (also commonly referred to as blood sugar) drops to an unsafe level within the first few days of the child’s birth.

The glucose that babies use to sustain their energy and brain functioning is received from the mother’s placenta during the pregnancy. Once the child is birthed, however, they will rely upon their mother’s milk, or formula, to supplement the glucose that is produced in the baby’s liver. When the proper amounts of glucose are not sustained by a newborn, he or she could suffer significant brain injury.

To date, hypoglycemia remains to be one the most common of all metabolic problems experienced by newborns in Florida and throughout the United States. Among infants who suffer from severe neonatal hypoglycemia, brain injury is a very real possibility.

Given the fact that this medical condition is not difficult to identify and treat, a doctor can be held negligent if they missed the warning signs of neonatal hypoglycemia. If you have reason to suspect the intentions or behaviors of your child’s doctor, a Florida birth injury lawyer at Chalik & Chalik can be contacted for help.

Risk Factors for Neonatal Hypoglycemia

Medical professionals undergo years of educational and practical training before they are permitted to practice medicine in the state of Florida. As such, it can be reasonably expected that physicians and nurses will have the knowledge, skill, and wherewithal to adequately identify and appropriately treat infants who present signs and symptoms of neonatal hypoglycemia. In addition to the blood tests that are conducted on an infant at the time of birth, doctors should also be looking for physical indications that can put a child at risk of suffering from low blood sugar. These symptoms include:

• Babies who are born with a serious infection
• Babies who need oxygen immediately upon delivery
• Babies who are oversized or undersized for their gestational age
• Babies who have rare genetic disorders
• Babies who experienced poor growth while in the womb
• Babies whose mothers are diabetic
• Babies who have low thyroid levels

If no risk factors were identified during a mother’s pregnancy, the doctors should be even more vigilant in their efforts to identify possible signs of neonatal hypoglycemia at the time of a child’s birth. Symptomatic of infants who suffer from neonatal hypoglycemia at birth are conditions such as the following:

• Bluish or pale colored skin (cyanosis)
• Loss or floppy muscles (hypotonia)
• Breathing problems (tachypnea and apnea)
• Vomiting
• Problems with feeding
• Seizures
• Tremors / sweating / shaking
• Irritability or listlessness
• Inability to maintain warm body temperature
• Weak or high-pitched crying

Potential Complications of Neonatal Hypoglycemia

About two out of every 1,000 babies born in the United States will suffer neonatal hypoglycemia, according to the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health at Stanford University School of Medicine. These babies may be at risk of experiencing:

• seizures;
• brain injury;
• heart failure; and
• impaired mental functioning.

At Chalik & Chalik, we work with medical experts to research and investigate your child’s case to determine the full extent of his or her injuries. In this way, we can better construct a claim that addresses the full range of your child’s healthcare needs. For instance, will your child require cognitive therapy to address a brain injury? Will he or she need surgery or extensive hospital care? We will consider all of these questions in the course of building your case.

How does Neonatal Hypoglycemia happen?

Neonatal hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar/glucose, occurs within the first few days after delivery. Glucose is an essential energy source and is necessary for proper brain functioning. Some of the potential causes include:

• genetic disorders;
• serious newborn infection;
• premature birth;
• maternal gestational diabetes;
• low birth weight or size;
• delayed intrauterine growth; and
• newborn suffering low thyroid output.

Adequate pre- and post-natal care can identify and address many of these factors. A failure to do so may constitute negligence. There are many signs of the condition, including:

• low body temperature;
• poor muscle control;
• pale skin;
• bluish tint to the skin;
• restlessness;
• apnea or other signs of difficulty breathing;
• shaking;
• sweating; and
• vomiting and trouble eating.

Is your child battling the long-term effects of neonatal hypoglycemia?

Infants whose neonatal hypoglycemia was not identified and / or properly treated in the state of Florida could ultimately suffer from a series of mental and physical problems. From brain damage, to epilepsy, to sight obstructions, an infant’s entire life can be adversely affected from the results of a mistreated case of neonatal hypoglycemia.

Neonatal hypoglycemia that goes undiagnosed and untreated for a prolonged amount of time can cause a child to suffer from cerebral palsy, mental retardation, learning disability, developmental disability, and neuropsychiatry disorders. Your physician must be able to recognize and attend to the symptoms of neonatal hypoglycemia if your child stands a chance of avoiding the long-term effects that could otherwise be felt by child victims of this type of birth injury.

Take Legal Action: Call Chalik & Chalik

The parents of children who suffer from one of the long-term debilitations described above can take legal action against a negligent doctor whose medical malpractice resulted in the mistreatment or misdiagnosis of a child suffering from neonatal hypoglycemia. To do so, we recommend that you speak with an attorney at our office as soon as possible.

At the law office of Chalik & Chalik, our skills and knowledge can be put to work for you as you purse an injury claim on behalf of your child’s birth injury. Together, we can review the circumstances surrounding your child’s injury and determine how to best move forward within the legal field. As advocates of the personally injured, we are fully prepared to help our clients take the necessary steps toward recovering compensation, and we are prepared to do the same for you.