When women in Los Angeles have a baby, many of them prefer to move forward with the natural form of childbirth. In some cases, however, there are reasons that a doctor will want to perform a Cesarean section. It might be due to the health of the baby and mother or there might be a desire on the part of the mother to have the procedure done. While this is a common operation, there are still known dangers for both the mother and infant. These must be considered if something goes wrong.
In comparison to a normal vaginal birth, it will take a greater amount of time to recover from a C-section. There are also dangers to the baby such as problems breathing and birth injuries during the surgery. With the breathing issues, it has been shown that babies have a more common incidence of transient tachypnea. This is hallmarked by the baby breathing in an abnormally rapid manner in the first few days of life. In the event that the procedure is done prior to the pregnancy reaching 39 weeks, or if there is evidence that the baby’s lungs are not mature enough, there could be other breathing issues like respiratory distress syndrome. Surgical injuries are relatively rare, but the baby could be cut when the doctor is doing the C-section.
For the mother, there could be inflammation and infection called endometritis. There is the possibility that significant bleeding will occur. In addition, a mother might have a negative reaction to the anesthetic. Furthermore, blood clots can form and travel to other parts of the body – especially the lungs – and cause a dangerous blockage. Also, the wound could become infected. Much like the baby can be injured during the surgery, so too can the mother when the operation is taking place. Future pregnancies can be negatively affected with a C-section.
Having a C-section is often considered the preferable option for a multitude of reasons. In many cases, it’s safe and there is no issue to the mother and infant during or after it is done. In others, however, serious injury results. If something goes wrong during the delivery process when there is a C-section, it’s important that the parents know how to move forward in pursuing compensation for injuries. Discussing the matter with an attorney can help people in this situation understand their legal rights.
Source: MayoClinic.org, “C-Section Risks,” accessed on April 28, 2015
