The Link Between C-Section Complication and Cerebral Palsy
Every expectant mother hopes for a safe delivery of their infant, free of complications. Unfortunately, things can wrong in the delivery room. A natural birth can become an emergency and, anytime an infant is delivered via cesarean section, the stakes go up. Too many newborns are affected by poor medical treatment or delayed care during a C-section, and this c-section complication can lead to a diagnosis of cerebral palsy.
Preventable Birth Injuries
An emergency C-section typically occurs because delivery is not progressing properly or the mother or baby goes into distress. The procedure needs to happen fast, and the doctors and nurses attending the mother should be prepared to manage every possible scenario, no matter how rushed it may be.
Medical malpractice can result from:
- A failure to address the complication immediately and properly.
- Critical mistakes in how the C-section is performed.
- A delayed C-section.
- Inadequate C-section operation facilities.
- Mismanaged pregnancy infections.
- Inadequately monitored fetal heart rate before and during labor and birth.
- Poor use of forceps or vacuum equipment forcing the need for a C-section.
Proper fetal heart monitoring signals to medical professionals when a baby is in distress. Failure to accurately read these distress signals, or lack of sophisticated and working equipment, can lead to oxygen deprivation, brain damage and birth injuries such as:
- Cerebral palsy
- Erb’s palsy
- Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy
- Developmental delays
- Learning disabilities
- Seizures
- And more.
Why Some C-Sections Can Lead to Cerebral Palsy
Even a planned C-section is stressful. It is, after all, a surgical delivery. This procedure should only be performed by a capable and experienced doctor to ensure that oxygen deprivation or bodily injuries do not occur with the infant, and so that there is a minimal risk of complications for the mother, like hemorrhaging or uterine rupture.
C-section deliveries are usually called for when a vaginal delivery would be dangerous to the mother or child. Some of the situations where a C-section may be planned or emergent include:
- Umbilical cord problems.
- Placental problems.
- Misuse of Pitocin.
- Premature delivery.
- Maternal infections.
- Delivery of multiples.
- Stalled labor.
- Large baby.
- Uterine rupture.
- Baby in the wrong position.
About 20 percent of the time, a child’s diagnosis of cerebral palsy was caused by a birth injury. In these cases, there are often medical mistakes that could have been prevented. If you had a C-section and your child was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, contact Thurswell Law for a free consultation with one of our experienced medical malpractice attorneys or birth injury attorneys. We do not charge any fees unless you collect. Call (248) 354-2222 today to schedule your consultation.
