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3 labor and delivery mistakes that can lead to birth injuries

Oct 1, 2024 | Birth Injuries

Some children come into this world with congenital medical conditions. They may be born with Down Syndrome or many other medical challenges that could affect them for the rest of their lives. Other times, children come into the world with medical issues, but they aren’t the result of genetics or developmental abnormalities.

Instead, those issues are birth injuries. They are medical issues specifically caused by something going wrong during pregnancy, labor or delivery. In some cases, medical professionals directly cause or contribute to birth injuries by the choices they make when caring for a mother and her unborn child.

What are some of the ways that obstetric professionals may contribute to the development of a birth injury?

Intervening unnecessarily

Some nurses occasionally joke that C-sections are more common on days when doctors have tee times. While that may be a grim attempt at humor, there is sometimes a degree of truth to that joke. Physicians may put their desire to go home or to speed up the labor process ahead of what is best for the mother and her unborn baby. Doctors may initiate unnecessary interventions in a labor progressing at a healthy rate. That may trigger a cascade of problems that result in negative medical outcomes for mother and child.

Failing to intervene quickly

There is a fine line between taking unnecessary actions that could cause harm and delaying necessary actions. Best practices in labor and delivery wards include consistent monitoring of both the mother and the fetus to ensure that they remain healthy and stable. If the unborn child goes into distress, doctors may need to arrange for an emergency C-section  or other immediate interventions. Delaying that care can be the difference between a healthy delivery and the birth of a child with permanent brain damage.

Choosing the wrong interventions

Children can also be injured when healthcare providers choose the wrong intervention. Attempting delivery with vacuum or forceps before the child has descended far enough, or persisting with vacuum or forceps delivery when those methods have failed to achieve prompt delivery can lead to serious injury brought about by trauma (fractured skull, bleeding) or hypoxia (lack of oxygen). Every birth scenario requires individualized care. Physicians should be able to adapt the care provided to the particular circumstances of each delivery. Inappropriate interventions can be as dangerous as unnecessary interventions and the failure to intervene when appropriate.

In cases where doctors and support staff do not use reasonable care in achieving delivery, it may be possible to assert that a birth injury was the result of medical malpractice. Filing a medical malpractice lawsuit might lead to compensation for an affected family which can help pay for needed future care, lost wages, medical costs and other expenses.

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