WHAT ARE DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS?

At certain ages, a baby will be able to do more. Crawling to walking. Babbling to talking. Interacting with people. Recognizing colors, shapes. Being able to read. These are just some examples and they are called milestones by the medical profession. When these milestones are not reached or do not happen at all, then there is a concern that there may be delays in development. These delays are recognized by the most important people, you the parent.  You spend the most time with your baby. You may have older children and you can compare their development with your baby. Or maybe you are around other babies and you start to be concerned that your baby is not doing what those babies are doing.

NOW THAT YOU NOTICED DEVELOPMENTAL DELAYS, WHAT DO YOU DO?

Bring this to the attention of your pediatrician. Trust your instincts. The doctor may tell you that all babies develop differently and the fact that your baby does not walk on tine or talk on time is normal. That may be true in most cases. But, if you have a traumatic birth, these delays can a result of that trauma. Did any of this happen to you?

• Your baby's heart rate was dropping during delivery
• You had to have oxygen put on you to help get oxygen to the baby
• The delivery took very long
• Your baby was delivered by an emergency c-section
• Your baby had to to the NICU (intensive care unit for babies)

If yes, then developmental delays could be caused by the traumatic birth.

Besides your pediatrician, you can get more specialized doctors called developmental pediatricians to evaluate your child. In Baltimore, Kennedy Krieger provides these services.

SHOULD I CALL FRANK SPECTOR LAW-MARYLAND BIRTH INJURY LAWYER?

Yes! For over 30 years I have helped families get justice for their babies and children injured at birth. During the free consultation, I will speak with you personally. I will ask lots of questions about the birth and what happened afterward. Together we will be able to determine whether there is a case. https://www.frankspectorlaw.com/videos.  Here I provide helpful videos to answer some of the question you might have.

Here is a link to results we have obtained for other families.https://www.frankspectorlaw.com/case-results