Not 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 In some cases the doctors have been replaced by nurse-midwives and beds...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...
Read MoreA new study published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics this week found a substantial association between women having their labor induced or sped up and the incidence of autism. While researchers stress they did not find a cause-and-effect connection, the study strongly reaffirmed medical consensus that autism is developed during pregnancy or during birth, not later in life. Could...
Read MoreA new study by researchers in Norway has found a statistically significant association that may indicate that premature and small babies have a greater risk of cerebral palsy if their mothers experience preeclampsia while pregnant. Preeclampsia, an often dangerous pregnancy complication signified by high blood pressure and increased protein in the mother’s urine, is not known to cause cerebral...
Read MoreYou don’t have to be a parent to understand how devastating birth injuries can be to a child and his or her family. Moving forward after complications from a birth can be incredibly scary, especially without knowing the long-term prognosis. It can take years to discover and understand the full extent of a birth injury and all of its...
Read MoreWhen a New York medical malpractice lawyer turned down an $8 million settlement offer for a girl born with severe cerebral palsy due to birth injuries, everyone thought he was crazy. When took the case to trial and lost, it looked like they were right. That case was overturned on appeal, however, and had to be retried. The second...
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