Raising a perfectly healthy child is no easy feat. Caring for a child with a birth injury can then be much more demanding and full of unique challenges. Depending on the severity of the birth injury and the physical impairment of the child, caregivers in the household will need to provide a lot of time, attention, and financial resources to help improve the child’s quality of life.
Emotional Impact
Parents often go through a variety of emotions once finding out that their child sustained a birth injury, especially if it is one that causes lifelong impairment. Each milestone that their child misses may be a devastating and stressful time for parents, who may still be learning how to provide the type of care their child needs.
It’s not uncommon for mothers to experience PTSD, depression, and other mental health disorders after a child’s birth injury. Fathers are not exempt from stress, either. While postpartum depression (PPD) is often associates with mothers, it can impact fathers as well.
Both or either parent may also experience:
- Difficulty bonding with the infant
- Relationship breakdowns
- Job loss
- Feelings of helplessness
Siblings of children with birth injuries may be particularly vulnerable to feelings of confusion and abandonment since their parents need to spend additional time with the other sibling. Parents should recognize that tantrums are normal and they should not dismiss feelings of anger, grief, or confusion.
It’s important to have age-appropriate conversations about their sibling’s birth injury and allow them to ask questions so they feel less anxious about the situation and can understand why their sibling may need more specific care at times.
Helping Your Family Heal Together
If your family is facing any of these challenges after a loved one suffered a birth injury, please know that Angel Law is ready to hear your story and offer you caring and ethical legal representation.
We understand that no amount of compensation can completely make up for the experiences that you and your family have been through. However, our firm believes that you deserve the justice and financial resources to provide your child with the best possible quality of life.
Contact Angel Law at (503) 862-8666 to speak with our head attorney, Patrick Angel, for free today.