You went to all your prenatal appointments. You did everything you were told to do, and still your baby was hurt during delivery. The feelings of grief and guilt can be overwhelming, but you need to know this: if your baby was hurt because he or she was too large for a safe vaginal delivery, then it was not your fault. In many cases, the dangers of delivering a large baby can be avoided by a doctor, and it is possible that they could have been avoided by yours.
Your Doctor May Have Failed to Diagnose Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes is a serious condition that can be treated by diet, and in some cases medication, if it is properly diagnosed. All pregnant women should be screened for gestational diabetes in their second trimester of pregnancy unless they have risk factors that make an earlier screening necessary. If the screening suggests a possible problem, then the patient should be provided with a full glucose-tolerance test to determine whether gestational diabetes is present. One of the serious risks of gestational diabetes is that a baby will grow too big to deliver safely. Thus, women with gestational diabetes must be carefully monitored and provided with information about diet and medication.
Your Doctor May Have Failed to Recommend a C-Section
Whether your baby is large because of gestational diabetes or due to other causes, your doctor should take an ultrasound during your last few weeks of pregnancy to determine the expected size of the baby. Failure to monitor the size of the baby can lead to unsafe vaginal deliveries in which the child gets stuck in the birth canal or suffers shoulder dystocia, both of which can lead to lifelong disabilities.
Obstetricians who exercise a reasonable degree of care typically recommend a C-section if a baby is thought to be too large for a safe vaginal delivery.
Your Child May be Entitled To Damages
If your child suffered a birth injury because of undiagnosed gestational diabetes or the failure to perform a C-section, then he or she may be entitled to damages for the birth injury. The Virginia and Washington D.C. birth-injury lawyers of Shevlin Smith will carefully investigate your case and represent you in an appropriate birth-injury case against a physician, hospital, or other medical entity that harmed your baby.
Caring for a child with disabilities can be expensive. If those disabilities were caused by medical negligence then you deserve compensation to cover those expenses and for your child’s pain and suffering. Contact the Washington D.C. and Virginia medical malpractice attorneys of Shevlin Smith at 703-721-4233 for more information.