One of modern medicine’s biggest success stories is childbirth safety. In the early 20th century, just over 100 years ago, six to nine women died due to pregnancy complications per 1,000 births. Approximately 10 percent of babies would die before their first birthday.
In 2015, only 14 mothers died per 100,000 births. In 2018, infant mortality was down to just 5.7 deaths before the age of one per 1,000 births.
The strides we’ve made in safety for both mothers and babies has been truly momentous, which is one of the reasons why birth injuries or deaths are so noteworthy. Parents today have a right to believe everything will go smoothly during childbirth, especially if their obstetricians and doctors haven’t indicated there could be complications beforehand.
Complications and Mistakes Still Happen
Despite birth injuries becoming rarer in recent decades, falling to just 1.9 injuries per 1,000 live births by 2012, they’re still not unheard of today. Some of the most common birth injuries include:
- Head trauma and skull fractures
- Hemorrhages
- Cranial nerve injuries
- Facial nerve injuries
- Peripheral nerve and spinal cord injuries
- Broken bones
- Soft tissue injuries
- Cerebral palsy
- Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
While some of these issues can be complicated by the health of the mother, many are often caused by extraction methods, such as the use of forceps or vacuum.
Birth injuries happen for a lot of reasons. In birth injury cases where either the mother or baby was hurt and the hospital is worried about a lawsuit, they may attempt to suggest it was because of the mother. While it’s true that maternal obesity, diabetes and other health factors can complicate a birth, doctors and hospital staff can also make mistakes or be negligent.
There may also be scenarios where the delivering doctor is put in difficult situations. Data shows that using forceps or vacuum extraction can increase the likelihood of injury. However, tool-assisted delivery may be the best option for a doctor when the health of the mother or baby is at risk.
In some of those situations there might not have been any warnings signs or preparatory steps that could have been taken to make the delivery go smoother. There are also circumstances where mistakes or oversights by an obstetrician or medical staff may have led to that situation.
Mistakes may not even be a delivering doctor’s fault. For example, if a pregnant woman’s obstetrician missed a warning sign during her pregnancy, and the delivery doesn’t go smoothly as a result, the liability may be on the obstetrician rather than the attending physician who performed the delivery (if they’re not the same doctor).
Obstetrician mistakes may be more common than people realize, and may include failing to:
- Order or perform the right prenatal test to catch complications early
- Diagnose an infection, umbilical cord entrapment or premature rupture of membranes
- Refer patients with certain risk factors to appropriate specialists
Common mistakes during childbirth that may lead to birth injuries for babies and mothers include:
- Misusing forceps during delivery, which may result in oxygen deprivation and potentially lead to cerebral palsy, as well as nerve or head injuries
- Improper placement of the vacuum when a mother is having difficulties can potentially injure both the mother and child
- Failing to quickly recognize signs of fetal distress or failing to recommend a caesarian section when appropriate can potentially result in a number of avoidable mother and baby injuries
Doctors have a responsibility to recognize warning signs and utilize the proper tools and methods to ensure childbirth is successful and safe. When birth injuries are the result of human error, they’re often caused by either failing to take the right action early or making a mistake while using the proper medical tools for the situation.
Mother or Childbirth Injury Investigations Can Get Complicated
Serious childbirth injuries or the death of a mother or child is a traumatic experience for everyone involved. People often want easy answers fast so the right people can be held accountable.
The cause of birth injuries or death are not always obvious or straightforward. It often requires significant investigation to determine whether a mistake was made and who made the mistake or misdiagnosed the situation.
Medical malpractice cases are rarely easy, but they can be especially tough when children are involved.
A child’s life might be irrevocably altered by a birth injury. Parents may have to make significant life changes to help a child or mother recover from an injury. In serious cases where a child suffers a permanently debilitating injury, families may have to shoulder hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars of unexpected medical costs in the future.
Working with a Houston Attorney Who Understands Medical Malpractice and Birth Injury Cases
The stakes are often high in birth injury cases, which is why it’s important to work with a personal injury attorney who understands medical malpractice and birth trauma investigation and litigation.
Personal injury attorneys who understand birth injuries, such as those at the Weycer Law Firm, will work with medical experts to determine what went wrong and who is liable.
Schedule a consultation with our Houston birth injury attorneys by calling (713) 668-4545.