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Preventable Maternal Injuries Abound in the United States

October 5th, 2018
By Zach Christiansen of The Bowling Christiansen Law Firm, A Professional Law Corporation on Friday, October 5, 2018.

The United States has become the most dangerous country in the developed world for women to give birth, according to a USA TODAY report. This alarming statistic is highlighted in USA TODAY reporter Alison Young’s Hospitals Know How to Protect Mothers. They Just Aren’t Doing It.

When compared to Germany, France, and England, there were more than twice as many incidences of maternal death in the United States from 1990 to 2015. In this country every year, more than 50,000 women sustain severe injuries during child birth, and approximately 700 women die, according to Young’s investigation. But these numbers could be greatly reduced with more focused maternal care, and often times by simply monitoring the patient.

One of the most common maternal injuries is postpartum hemorrhage, defined as excessive blood loss following childbirth. Hemorrhage usually occurs with the delivery of the placenta, but can occur at any time in the postpartum phase. But by closely monitoring a mother’s bleeding, blood pressure, pulse, and blood counts, physicians can quickly diagnose and address postpartum hemorrhage to avoid serious injury.

Another maternal injury that can afflict pregnant mothers is intracranial hemorrhage, a type of stroke. Intracranial hemorrhages are often preceded by elevated blood pressure levels, like those found in women with preeclampsia. When blood pressures reach significant levels, the blood vessels of the brain can bleed. With close monitoring of maternal blood pressures surrounding childbirth, however, health care workers have time to anticipate problems and plan for medical interventions to reduce the pressure before an intracerebral bleed occurs.

Medical malpractice claims for injuries sustained in childbirth are difficult cases that require experienced attorneys to navigate. The attorneys at The Bowling Christiansen Law Firm have handled numerous maternal injury cases, as well as birth injury cases, with successful outcomes. Please contact our office if you are seeking legal remedies for injuries related to negligent maternal care.

For more information on maternal care in the United States and the USA TODAY investigation, you can visit https://maternal.usatoday.com or https://www.newsweek.com/us-most-dangerous-developed-country-give-birth-report-1044898.

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