When you heard you were pregnant, you probably envisioned a worry-free pregnancy, labor and delivery. After all, women have been doing this for eons, and you think you are in good health.
In fact, your pregnancy was without issue, and even before you give birth, you think that you could do this again. Then, you go into labor. At some point, your doctor tells you that something is wrong and you need an emergency C-section. Even though your thoughts are rightly on the safety and health of your baby, you need to understand that this is still a surgical procedure and comes with risks and potential complications.
Why would you need an emergency C-section?
Labor and delivery are often the most dangerous times of any pregnancy and birth. The most common reasons why an emergency C-section would happen include the following:
- Your baby is in the wrong position.
- Your baby is too large to fit through the birth canal.
- Your labor isn’t progressing well.
- Either your or your baby’s health is at risk.
Under these conditions, this procedure becomes necessary, but the danger doesn’t end there.
What could happen to your baby?
Fortunately, your baby does not face as many risks during an emergency C-section as you do. However, he or she could face breathing issues, fluid in the lungs and surgical errors. Your doctor could cut, scrape or nick the baby during the surgery.
More often than not, your baby will not suffer any adverse effects, but the possibility is there.
What could happen to you?
You face the greater risks during this procedure. The most common include the following:
- Fetal material or amniotic fluid could enter your bloodstream.
- The surgeon could injure your intestines or bladder.
- You could lose a lot of blood, or hemorrhage.
- You could contract an infection.
- Your uterus could become inflamed.
- You may not be able to deliver another child vaginally.
- You could have an adverse reaction to the anesthesia.
- You could develop life-threatening blood clots.
Some of these complications could put your health at risk. If your doctor does not take the appropriate precautions and perform the procedure properly, you could suffer significant harm. You could even have lifelong issues as well.
The medical community might give the impression that a C-section, either planned or emergency, seems like no big deal, but as you can see, it is. If something goes wrong during your procedure, it could be due to medical malpractice, and you may be able to hold the liable parties legally responsible. Doing so could save another mother and child from the same experience.