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Birth Complications

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Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development

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Synonyms

Abnormal presentation; Atypical delivery; Birth trauma

Definition

Any atypical feature of birthing process which increases the risk, impacts the delivery, health, or vitality of the infant, and is seen as a complication.

Description

Many factors may place the fetus at risk of poor outcomes. These may arise as a result of abnormal prenatal development in addition to atypical factors that can occur during the birthing process. The major complications of the birth are:

Cesarean delivery: In a cesarean delivery (c-section) the baby is surgically removed from the uterus by making an incision in the abdomen of the mother. This type of delivery is used most often when the fetus is in distress or danger and medical professionals feel it is unwise to wait for the baby to travel through the birth canal [2–5, 7]. Caesarean deliveries are also used when the baby is in a breech position (feet or buttocks first), transverse position (crosswise), or the head of the baby is too large to...

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References

  1. Berk, L. E. (2006). Child development (7th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education.

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  2. Berk, L. E. (2008a). Infants, children, and adolescents (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson Education.

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  3. Berk, L. E. (2008b). Infants and children: Prenatal through middle childhood. Boston: Pearson Education.

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  4. Feldman, R. S. (2007). Child development (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

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  5. McDevitt, T. M., & Ormrod, J. E. (2007). Child development and education (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.

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  6. Papalia, D. E., Gross, D., & Feldman, R. D. (2003). Child development: A topical approach. New York: McGraw-Hill.

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  7. Santrock, J. W. (2007). Child development (11th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ball State University, 3760 N. Tillotson Ave. Apt. 157, Muncie, IN, 47304, USA

    Renee Grizzle

Authors
  1. Renee Grizzle
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Neurology, Learning and Behavior Center, 230 South 500 East, Suite 100, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84102, USA

    Sam Goldstein Ph.D.

  2. Department of Psychology MS 2C6, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA

    Jack A. Naglieri Ph.D. (Professor of Psychology) (Professor of Psychology)

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© 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

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Grizzle, R. (2011). Birth Complications. In: Goldstein, S., Naglieri, J.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79061-9_356

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-79061-9_356

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-0-387-77579-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-0-387-79061-9

  • eBook Packages: Behavioral Science

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