This Birth Injury May Increase A Child's Mental Illness Risk, New Study Finds

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There are times during labor when a baby might be prone to getting physically injured. There are numerous reasons for this to happen: baby’s size, excessive pulling of infant’s head or neck, position or movement at the time of labor or delivery, and/or due to the size or shape of the mother’s pelvis. While traumatic birth usually doesn’t cause long-term or short-term impact on a child’s health, however new research says otherwise. Scientists have discovered that a rather common birth injury could increase the chances of a kid’s mental illness during their teen years.

According to a new Swedish study, children suffering from brachial plexus injury are prone to facing a higher risk of developing certain mental health complications in their teenage (1). Amidst kids with this condition, it is found that females belonging to low socio-economic groups are at an increased risk for degradation in mental health.

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Brachial plexus injury or neonatal brachial plexus palsy dates back to the year 1779 when an infant experienced a little weakness in the arms, which eventually cleared up in a few days. Since then, scientists have been examining and learning immensely about the various factors and dangers that are associated with the disease. However, it still finds its place as a common type of birth injury and affects almost thousands of newborns every year. This condition is characterized by loss of motion or weakness in the arm, and the nerve fibers that lead to the arm are damaged during the delivery process (2). The degree of the resulting complications can range from hardly noticeable to complete inability to move the hand.

Researchers from the Lund University in Sweden assessed 641151 children who were born to Sweden natives in the period of 1987-1993, according to the Swedish Medical Birth Registry. Out of these, 1587 had gone through a case of Brachial Plexus Birth Injury (BPBI). Their findings disclosed that children suffering from this physical birth injury were in the use of medications for mental health at a higher scale than their peers. Additionally, the study also explores the association between the injury, the socioeconomic status as well as the sex. It indicates that females are more prone as compared to males and this risk is further increased by lower family income. Kids who grow up in families with a lower socioeconomic status are more likely to face a risk of distressed mental health during their adolescent years when compared to their wealthier counterparts. So, if coming from a low-income family wasn’t risky enough, if you are a girl, the risk that your mental health will get degraded is more than twice as high as compared to a boy belonging to a wealthy family. But, why does this birth injury differentiate in the effects caused to females to that of males? The research says that it is due to the extreme levels of trauma and discrimination faced by the girls.

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This research is aimed at increasing the awareness of the long-term effects caused by the BPBI. In addition to that, it will help in preparing both kids and parents for BPBI and provide better support when the effects begin to show in their teenage years. Not to mention, it might lead to better medication and treatment choices on their end as well. Birth injuries can be prevented, though. We agree that the situation might not be the same in all cases, considering the severity. If acute steps are taken by the healthcare team in the selection and management of the treatment, along with patient self-care, they might be able to avoid the hazard completely and reduce the rates.

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