Birth Injury Statistics
If your child has suffered an injury during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or shortly after the birth, knowing the facts about birth injuries can help you understand whether medical negligence was a factor. Understanding demographic statistics and total rates for common birth injuries can help your family develop a plan of action.
- Last Updated Date: April 1, 2026
Birth injuries typically result from internal or external trauma that occurs during the birthing process. Their effects range from minor, localized bruising to brain injuries that cause lifelong disabilities, and some even result in death. Nearly 30,000 babies are born with some form of birth injury each year in the U.S., causing significant physical, emotional, and financial difficulties for children and their families.
When you are expecting a child, you assume health care providers will meet the highest medical standards. However, errors by medical professionals during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or shortly after birth can cause serious injuries that result in permanent damage. When this happens, medical professionals may be held accountable, and you may have the right to sue for damages.
While every birth injury case is different, it is important to know the leading causes to identify them and determine whether you are eligible to file a birth injury lawsuit.
How Common Are Birth Injuries in The United States?
Recent data shows that there are an average of 6 to 8 injuries per 1,000 live births in the U.S. each year. Less than 20% of these injuries are considered minor; over 80% are classified as moderate to severe, often with lifelong consequences for mother and child.
Birth injuries also contribute to roughly 20% of infant deaths in the U.S. each year, making them a significant factor in infant mortality.
Birth Injury and Medical Negligence
In 2019, the Center for Justice and Democracy at New York Law School compiled various studies about childbirth injuries and their respective insurance claims and lawsuits. The report found that:
- 80 percent of claims involved “high severity” injuries with permanent or semipermanent damage to the child
- 24 percent of birth injury cases result in death for an infant, mother, or both
- 41 percent of claims involved brain and neurological injury
- 34 percent of claims involved fetal death
- 29 percent of claims involved mothers’ infertility resulting from an injury
Per the same compilation of case studies, the four leading reasons for childbirth injury lawsuits are:
- General negligence during labor
- Failure to recognize fetal heart complications
- Inadequate administration of medications such as Pitocin to the mother or the child
- Failure to recognize or act in emergencies
Unfortunately, in many cases, injuries to babies and mothers were considered “potentially avoidable.”
Birth Injury Risk Factors
A number of factors can contribute to a higher risk of birth injuries, from the infant’s gender and weight to techniques used during labor. Generally, male infants face a higher risk of birth injuries, likely due to their larger size. Recent data shows the male birth injury rate is 6.9 per 1,000 live births, while the female rate is 5.1 per 1,000 live births. High birth weights of more than 8 lbs 13 oz can also make infants more vulnerable to injury, as can substantially low birth weights.
Several conditions in the mother can also cause an increased risk of birth injuries. Gestational diabetes is linked to a high birth weight, raising the risk of injury. Between 5-9% of pregnancies are affected by gestational diabetes each year in the U.S. Preeclampsia, which occurs in 5-8% of U.S. births, can also greatly increase the risk of injury to mother and child.
A prolonged or complicated delivery can increase the risk of numerous birth injuries, especially brachial plexus injuries. Instrument-assisted delivery, including the use of vacuums or forceps, can raise the risk of fractures and nerve damage. Additionally, breech and other abnormal fetal positions can increase the risk of injury during delivery.
Birth Injury Statistics by Type
Cerebral Palsy
When medical professionals fail to monitor a baby’s oxygen levels properly, asphyxiation can result, increasing the risk of developing cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is a term for a group of permanent neurological disorders that appear in infancy and affect movement, posture, and muscle coordination.
Roughly 70% of cerebral palsy cases result from a birth injury, and about 1 in 345 children in the U.S. has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
HIE
Hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy, or HIE, is a serious brain injury caused by reduced blood flow and oxygen to a baby’s brain before, during, or shortly after birth. Neonatal HIE is estimated to occur in about 1.5 per 1,000 live births, and about 30% of children with moderate to severe HIE develop cerebral palsy.
Brachial Plexus & Nerve Injuries
When the nerves of a baby’s extremities sustain damage due to improper handling and negligence, serious conditions, such as Brachial plexus palsy and Erb’s palsy, can occur. Such injuries occur in 1-2 per 1,000 live births.
Though most babies are fortunate enough to fully recover from these conditions, others can endure lifelong complications. The long-term effects of untreated Erb’s palsy include permanent and irreversible nerve damage, poor bone growth, abnormal joint mobility, and muscular atrophy.
Neonatal Brain Injuries
Neonatal brain injuries affect approximately 3 infants out of every 1,000 that reach full-term. These injuries can cause two conditions: intraventricular hemorrhage, or IVH, and periventricular leukomalacia, or PVL. IVH occurs in up to 45% of very preterm infants born before 30 weeks, particularly those with a low birth weight. PVL affects up to 20% of very low birth weight infants.
Prognoses can vary for these conditions based on severity, but in some cases, infants may develop developmental delays, cerebral palsy, or other long-term conditions as a result.
Bone Fractures
During childbirth, bones may be fractured or broken, particularly in cases in which the delivery is problematic, such as a breech delivery. When doctors and nurses pull on a baby to release it from the birth canal, the infant’s bones are at risk.
Clavicle fractures are a common bone fracture during complicated deliveries, occurring in roughly 0.2-4.5% of deliveries.
Meanwhile, newborn cephalohematoma, a related injury, occurs when small blood vessels crossing the thin tissues above the skull are ruptured, causing blood to accumulate between the thin layer of tissue and the skull. The condition can cause blood loss and extreme jaundice in some cases, and last up to three months following birth. This condition occurs in roughly 2-3 per 1,000 live births and typically resolves within weeks.
Birth Injuries and Demographics
Demographics play a major role in birth injuries and birth outcomes across the United States, with key risk factors disproportionately affecting babies of color and those of low-income parents. A 2025 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation determined that the three leading medical factors for birth injuries that correlate to demographic statistics are low birth weight, preterm births, and a lack of pregnancy-related care.
Some of the key factors that can increase the risk of birth injury and play a major role in birth complications for mothers and infants include:
- Education level
- Geographic location
- Income inequality
- Environmental exposure
- Health-care access
- Psychosocial stressors
- Racial and ethnic background
Researchers have found that women of color are significantly more likely than white women to have certain birth risk factors that contribute to infant mortality and birth injuries.
Additionally, low-income mothers often lack the resources needed for high-quality medical care. A lack of education can lead to medical disadvantages, and living under the poverty line in low-income areas can cause exposure to unsanitary conditions and difficulty in receiving quality care.
Are Birth Injuries Preventable?
Not all birth injuries are avoidable. However, proper prenatal care, monitoring, and obstetric techniques during labor and delivery can prevent or reduce the risk of injuries. When a medical provider is negligent during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or shortly after birth and causes a birth injury that otherwise would not have occurred, they may be held legally accountable through a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Get Legal Help for Birth Injuries Due to Medical Negligence
Birth Injury Center is an educational and legal support platform dedicated to helping families affected by birth injuries and medical malpractice. Our mission is to provide clear, medically reviewed information that helps parents understand potential birth injuries, explore treatment considerations, and learn about legal options when medical negligence may be involved.
If your child has suffered a preventable birth injury due to a health care professional’s negligence, contact us today for legal assistance.
- Last Updated Date: April 1, 2026
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Written by:
Birth Injury Center Team
The Birth Injury Center aims to create informational web content and guides to help women and their families seeking support and guidance for birth injuries caused by medical negligence. All of the content published across The Birth Injury Center website has been thoroughly investigated and approved by medical expert Natalie Speer, RNC-OB.