Anticipating the birth of your baby is a joyful and exciting moment, but it can also be nerve-wracking because of the many possible birth complications that can happen. Hopefully, your physician is there to monitor you and care for you every step of the way.
While you and your physician agree to a vaginal birth, an emergency cesarean (C-section) might become necessary under certain circumstances. When a baby’s oxygen supply is cut off during labor, it puts the baby in fetal distress. If the physician does not deliver the baby in time, it can cause irreparable damage to the brain. Cerebral palsy is a birth injury that may result in permanent damage to a child’s brain.
What are the causes of delayed C-sections?
Prolonged labor causes maternal and fetal distress. It puts the baby at a higher risk for oxygen deprivation and brain bleeds. Your doctor should order an emergency C-section immediately. However, that is not always the case, and delayed C-sections happen due to the following reasons:
- The physician or attending hospital staff failed to monitor for fetal and maternal distress adequately.
- The physician delayed a C-section due to a misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, meaning they may have attributed the signs of maternal and fetal distress to other factors.
- The physician failed to diagnose the mother or baby with preexisting or high-risk medical conditions before labor.
- The hospital does not have an emergency room available.
You depend on your physician and the hospital to give you and your baby the medical standard of care any other health care provider would under the same circumstances. The consequences can be fatal when they fail to provide that care.