Handling Malpractice Claims Involving High-Risk Pregnancies
Potential Of High-Risk Pregnancies To Escalate Into Negligent Birth Injuries
If left unmonitored, certain conditions can lead to complications during delivery that can threaten the life of both mother and child. A high-risk pregnancy can easily escalate into a situation where a baby shows signs of fetal distress and must be delivered immediately to avoid asphyxia, brain damage or fetal death.
A doctor should be vigilant in monitoring a high-risk mother during pregnancy and childbirth. Failure to do so can cause harm or death to an infant in the following ways:
Age — Pregnant women 35 and older are more likely to develop hypertension (high blood pressure) or preeclampsia.
Eclampsia causes organ failure in the mother and can lead to fetal death if the child is not immediately delivered via cesarean section.
Weight — Obese women are more likely to have large babies and often struggle in delivery and need to have a cesarean section. Their pregnancies are also likelier to last too long — as long as 42 weeks. Overweight women are at risk for developing gestational diabetes, high blood pressure and preeclampsia.
Gestational diabetes — this disorder is experienced only by pregnant women who did not have diabetes previously and were diagnosed during pregnancy.
Babies born to mothers with gestational diabetes are at risk for being too large to pass through the birth canal. The child’s shoulder may become lodged behind the mother’s pubic bone (shoulder dystocia) and he may suffocate in the birth passage without an emergency c-section. A baby born of a mom with gestational diabetes is also at risk for developing hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) in the hours and days after his birth.
Contact Our Arizona Attorney If Your Child Suffered A Birth Injury
If you believe you were poorly monitored or received substandard medical care during your high-risk pregnancy, and it led to your child’s birth injury, we can help. We have almost 30 years of experience litigating complex birth injury cases. Call our lawyer at The Law Office of Robert H. Kleinschmidt, P.C., today at 480-951-3949 or contact us online to discuss your case. From our Scottsdale offices, we represent people throughout the greater Phoenix area.