While it may not sound troubling for a baby to be in a feet-first position prior to delivery, a baby in breech position can quickly change your plans for delivery, resulting in the need for an emergency C-section. If performed incorrectly, breech birth can result in serious complications for you or your child, and if your or your child sustains injuries due to a doctor’s negligence, you may be eligible to file a lawsuit.
If you are concerned that your injuries were a result of malpractice, the breech birth lawyers at Buttafuoco & Associates can help you understand your rights and determine next steps. Call us for a free case review at 1-800-NOW-HURT.
What Causes a Breech Baby?
Sometimes there is no apparent cause of a breech fetus, while other times there are specific reasons why it occurs. If you are expecting twins or triplets, or if you have been pregnant before, you are at higher risk of breech birth. Fibroids outside the uterus can block the birth canal, a septated uterus, going into labor pretern, or other reproductive medical conditions can make it impossible for a baby to get into a safe and proper position before you give birth. Some birth defects or muscular or skeletal issues can cause a breech fetus as well.
In some cases, a doctor’s negligence is the cause of breech birth, in which case a New York breech birth attorney may be able to help.
Breech Birth Complications
There are many potential complications that can occur with a breech baby because it is more likely to become stuck in the birth canal. This can cause:
- Dislocated or broken bones
- Bone or skull fractures due to excessive force during delivery
- Shoulder injuries
- Brachial plexus injuries
- Limb injury or immobility
- Weakness
- Spinal injuries that may result in paralysis, stillbirth, or severe respiratory complications
- Brain damage if the baby is stuck in the birth canal for a long time
- Fetal death
Though not all breech births result in serious complications, all of these injuries have the potential to cause pain, disability, or worse, in which case you are legally entitled to claim damages.
Diagnosing Breech Baby
If you have been pregnant before, you may notice signs that your baby is breech, such as feeling it kick in your pelvis rather than under your ribs. Often, however, it is hard to be certain a baby is in breech position until the third trimester, when your provider can assess the baby’s position on ultrasound.
If a baby is in breech position before 36 weeks, a doctor will usually wait for it to turn and enter the correct position. If this does not occur by 37 weeks, they may make an official diagnosis. After 37 weeks, there is typically not enough space for the baby to turn on its own.
At this point, the provider may turn your baby by applying pressure to your abdomen with their hands so that its head is down, but sometimes this is not an option and other times it is unsuccessful.
If your doctor is not able to achieve proper positioning, they should discuss other delivery options with you, including spontaneous (unaided) breech birth, assisted breech birth, or a caesarean section.
Filing a Claim for Breech Birth Negligence
Vaginally delivering a breech baby is significantly more risky than other delivery methods. And while a C-section is safer, breech births make C-sections more complicated and dangerous.
When a doctor discovers breech positioning, it is their duty to assess the risks of all delivery options and discuss these options with you. If a doctor fails to do so, and complications later occur, it could be considered negligence.
Likewise, if a doctor fails to assess the position of the fetus before the birth, or if they attempt to deliver a breech baby vaginally and the baby or the mother suffer injuries, it could be considered negligence.
Additional examples of negligence in this situation include:
- Failure to diagnose breech presentation
- Failure to recommend a C-section
- Mishandling during delivery by using excessive or improper force
- Failure to receive informed consent from the mother, if the provider does not inform the mother of the high-risk status of the delivery
- Failure to respond to complications during delivery, such as umbilical cord strangulation, fetal distress, or delaying an emergency c-section.
It is important to keep in mind that just because a breech birth is a high-risk medical situation, there are not always injuries, which means the provider cannot be considered negligent. To demonstrate negligence, you must be able to prove that the doctor acted outside the standard of care that other qualified doctors would use in a similar situation. You must also prove that their negligence resulted in your or your child’s injuries.
When to Talk with a Breech Birth Lawyer
If you believe your health care provider was negligent in their assessment, diagnosis, or management of your breech birth and it resulted in harm to you or your child, you may have a case.
At Buttafuoco & Associates, we fight for the rights of parents and children who are victims of a doctor’s negligence. If you do have a case, you may be entitled to compensation for medical costs, long-term care, emotional damages, lost time from work, and other damages.
Get in touch for a free consultation today at 1-800-NOW-HURT.