Background. Birth trauma is a group of diseases caused by mechanical factors during childbirth. Birth trauma is an interdisciplinary problem, affecting various fields of medicine, such as obstetrics, pediatrics, child neurology and other sciences. Birth trauma occupies an important place in the structure of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Birth injuries of newborns during vaginal birth occur in 3.6% of cases, during cesarean section — in 1.2%. However, at present, despite a comprehensive study of the problem, the incidence of birth trauma in newborns remains high. Along with obstetric birth trauma, spontaneous birth trauma also occurs — not associated with any obstetric care.Purpose of review. To summarize and analyze the available data on the causes of birth trauma in newborns depending on the type of birth injury.Materials and methods. The review includes published data over the past 10 years regarding the study of the causes of the main types of birth injuries in newborns. The literature search was conducted in Web of Science, Google Scholar, PubMed, and ELibrary databases.Results. The problem of fetal-pelvic disproportion in the genesis of the development of risk factors for maternal-fetal trauma remains relevant. Fetal macrosomia is one of the most significant factors in birth trauma. The most common skull injury in newborns is cephalohematoma. According to the mechanism of occurrence, birth trauma is divided into spontaneous — occurring during physiological childbirth — and obstetric — associated with any obstetric benefits. The degree of configuration of the fetal head plays a significant role in the pathogenesis of birth trauma. Birth trauma is considered as a systemic reaction on the part of the newborn’s body, which leads to a breakdown of compensatory and adaptive mechanisms and the development of critical damage to the central nervous system and is differentiated from birth damage, which includes only local changes.Conclusion. To search for preventive measures aimed at preventing birth injuries in newborns, it is necessary to systematize the groups of causes that influence the increased risk of birth injury. Timely assessment of the pathological configuration of the fetal head is extremely important when deciding on the advisability of using obstetric aids during vaginal operative delivery, since it is an early predictor of the formation of fetal-pelvic disproportion — a significant factor in birth trauma in the newborn. In recent years, taking into account the active study of molecular genetic mechanisms in the genesis of the formation of various pathological conditions, the search for various genetic and epigenetic factors that influence the risk of developing birth traumatic injuries in a newborn against the background of individual susceptibility to the effects of any physical factors during childbirth.
