According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were about 4 million children born in the United States in 2012. Most of those children were born without trouble. The CDC says that about one in every 33 of those babies was born with a birth defect. Some of those conditions couldn’t have been prevented. But in other...
Read MoreObstetricians generally agree that talking about the risks of environmental hazards with their pregnant patients would be doing the women a great service. But a recent survey of practitioners in that specialty reveals few bring up the subject. Why? That the issue is a serious one is not in dispute. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,...
Read MoreNot every case of cerebral palsy is attributable to some shortcoming in care by medical professionals. Sometimes, it’s the result of complications that could not be foreseen or avoided. But if a failure by doctors, nurses and hospitals to deliver the expected standard of care during pregnancy results in neurological damage, there may be just cause to seek compensation....
Read MoreAnyone who has seen the movie “2001: A Space Odyssey” likely recalls Hal — the nearly sentient computer that turned into a nemesis that eventually had to be disconnected after it killed off members of a space ship’s crew. Considering the connotations associated with the name it might be a little creepy for Kansas City readers to know that...
Read MoreNot too long ago, the standard for delivering a baby called for having the mother in the hospital delivery room and a doctor in control. A lot has changed over the past few decades. Many hospitals offer a variety of birthing options to expectant mothers these days. In some cases the doctors have been replaced by nurse-midwives and beds...
Read MoreBack in 2001, an Ohio woman gave birth to a son. He may have had all his fingers and toes, but she claims he suffered birth defects due to the fact that she had been prescribed the anti-depressant Paxil during her pregnancy. She is now suing the drug’s maker, GlaxxoSmithKline, saying that the birth injuries her son suffered were...
Read MoreIn 2007, Maribeth Chase underwent what was supposed to be a relatively routine bit of brain surgery — if any brain surgery can be called routine. The neurosurgeon was supposed to go in and drain blood that had accumulated on the surface of her brain. A mistake during the surgery, however, resulted in Chase suffering a brain injury that...
Read MoreMelissa Henricks has dreams. The Ballwin, Mo., girl also has a form of cerebral palsy, but her condition isn’t preventing her from pursing one particular dream of learning how to play the flute, thanks to the dedication of 6th grade band teacher, Kevin Smith. Many cases of cerebral palsy are the result of injury to the infant during delivery....
Read MoreLast year, an Oklahoma woman had no reason to wonder what a brachial plexus might be, let alone that injuring it might lead to a serious disability. She only learned about this anatomical feature because complications arose during the birth of her daughter. The term “brachial plexus” refers to twin bundles of nerves that begin at the spine near...
Read MoreAs we discussed on this blog in March, there has been some controversy over whether too many American moms are choosing to have cesarean-sections mainly for convenience instead of medical reasons. While many mothers may be doing so, a study by the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists had mixed results. The group found some evidence that the overall...
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