If Prolonged Labor Caused Birth Injuries, is it Medical Malpractice?

 Posted on November 25, 2024 in Birth Injury

Labor is a necessary step for most childbirths, but it can involve complications that may endanger both the mother and child. Prolonged labor is such a condition, and experienced obstetricians and midwives should realize the risks and act to protect mothers and their unborn babies. When these professionals are negligent in their duties and birth injuries occur, you may be eligible for compensation.

What are the dangers of prolonged labor? How do you know if you qualify to file a medical malpractice claim? The caring Chicago lawyers from Birth Injury Law Alliance, Ltd. can answer your questions and help you hold negligent healthcare providers accountable.

What Counts as Prolonged Labor?

As labor progresses, the mother’s body should be preparing for delivery by positioning the child to move through the birth canal, thinning and dilating the mother’s cervix, and causing increasingly more intense and frequent contractions. Active labor lasting more than 20 hours for a first child or 14 hours for subsequent children is considered prolonged. Slower than normal cervix dilation may also indicate prolonged labor.

What Are the Risks of Prolonged Labor?

Prolonged labor can produce multiple consequences, including:

• Birth trauma: Skull fractures, brachial plexus injuries, brain injuries

• Placental abruption: Oxygen deprivation, fetal stroke, brain injuries

• Fetal distress: Heart functions, meconium aspiration

• Maternal injuries: Vaginal tearing, infections, hemorrhaging

• Infections and sepsis

Babies born after prolonged labor may experience developmental difficulties along with other concerns.

Before the emergence of modern medicine, childbirth was a leading cause of death among women. With today’s knowledge and procedures, physicians should monitor both mother and child closely during pregnancy and labor and be prepared to intervene if labor does not properly progress.

Why Does Prolonged Labor Happen?

Various factors can cause labor to slow or stop, such as:

• Babies in the breech position

• Babies too large for the mother’s birth canal

• Pain medications

• Contractions that are not strong enough

Doctors may administer Pitocin to speed labor, although using that drug has its own risks. A C-section is sometimes needed to avoid unnecessary harm.

Prolonged Labor and Medical Malpractice

To qualify for a medical malpractice claim, you must prove several facts:

• Your medical providers were negligent, meaning they did not use the same level of care as another provider with similar qualifications would have used to prevent harm due to prolonged labor.

• You or your child suffered harm that was directly caused by that negligence.

• The harm created various losses, called damages.

Examples of negligence with prolonged labor include failing to monitor mother and child before and during labor, using delivery tools incorrectly, administering the wrong dosage of Pitocin, and failing to perform a necessary C-section. When you choose Birth Injury Law Alliance, Ltd., your legal team will investigate your circumstances, verify your eligibility for compensation, and fight to help you secure the full amount you deserve.

Schedule Your Free Consultation With Our Skilled Chicago, IL Prolonged Labor Lawyers

You can trust Birth Injury Law Alliance, Ltd. to protect your best interests when you or your child suffers harm from prolonged labor. Call us at 312-462-4200 to discuss your case with one of our experienced Cook County, IL birth injuries attorneys.