Facial nerve palsy due to birth trauma is the loss of controllable (voluntary) muscle movement in an infant's face due to pressure on the facial nerve just before or at the time of delivery.

Seventh cranial nerve palsy due to birth trauma

The infant's facial nerve (also called the seventh cranial nerve) can be damaged just before or at the time of delivery.

Most of the time the cause is unknown. However, a difficult delivery, with or without the use of instruments called forceps, may lead to this condition.

Some factors that can cause birth trauma (injury) include:

• Large baby size (may be seen if the mother has diabetes)
• Long pregnancy or labor
• Use of epidural anesthesia
• Use of a medication to cause labor and stronger contractions

However, most of the time these factors do not lead to facial nerve palsy or birth trauma.

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Facial nerve palsy due to birth trauma Symptoms

Review Date: 07/10/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine; and Luc Jasmin, MD, PhD, Department of Neurosurgery, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, and Department of Anatomy, University of California, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)