Is failing to do a C-section medical malpractice?

Your Delaware obstetrician (or midwife) is an integral component of your prenatal medical team. Throughout pregnancy and, also, during labor, delivery and post-partum recovery time, you can reasonably expect that your physician and other members of the team will closely monitor your condition and the health and safety of your baby. The licensed professional delivering your child undoubtedly knows how to recognize signs of maternal or fetal distress, which would prompt him or her to do an emergency C-section.

Sadly, many birth injuries and other problems occur when obstetricians, midwives or other labor and delivery team members fail in their duty to keep mothers and infants safe. Medical malpractice is something that should never happen but does in this state and all across the country.

It is not up to you to know if you need a C-section

While there are many cases of planned and scheduled C-sections for various reasons, when you’re the patient, it’s not your job to know when you and your baby need one. Your obstetrician or midwife, on the other hand, are responsible for taking appropriate action if a problem arises that the average licensed professional in the same industry would consider a reason for performing an emergency C-section. The following list shows numerous unexpected problems that can arise that might warrant a C-section if you’re having a baby:

• You’ve been in labor a long time and it’s not progressing.
• The size of your infant’s head is disproportionate to the size of the birth canal and won’t fit.
• You baby’s heart rate is too fast or too slow.
• The umbilical cord has slipped through the cervix and compresses, which is causing a lack of oxygen to your child’s brain.
• You are bleeding heavily due to placental abruption.
• You have suffered a uterine rupture at the site of a previous C-section.

Approximately one third of all births in the United States are C-section deliveries. However, a doctor has not scheduled all of them. If you suddenly learn from your medical team that you need a C-section because of an emergency issue, it can be stressful and frightening.

Substandard medical care places mothers’ and babies’ lives at risk

If medical negligence results in illness or injury to you or your infant, the consequences of the situation can be severe and far-reaching. In fact, failing to perform an emergency C-section when needed can result in infant or maternal mortality. If you and your child survive, but one or both of you suffers injury, you may need specialized care for weeks, months or even for the rest of your lives.

There’s always an inherent risk when a woman gives birth. However, neither you nor your child should have to suffer because someone on a medical team doesn’t do his or her job right. Many Delaware families who have suffered from medical malpractice have gone on to see restitution for damages in civil court.