Articles Posted in New York City

Every year thousands of babies are injured or killed from a specific birth complication called shoulder dystocia. A NYC Birth Injury Lawyer wants to know why more doctors and midwives aren’t informing their patients about who is at risk. The Director of Medical Education and Perinatal Outreach at Allegheny General Hospital said a shoulder dystocia birth is when the baby’s shoulders get stuck in the mother’s pelvic opening.

A prominent gynecologist from Allentown in Lehigh County has studied shoulder dystocia and believes these upsetting and avoidable complications are becoming more common. He attributes this phenomenon partly to women who are delivering larger babies, and partly to insurance companies who are trying to reduce the rate of more expensive Caesarean births.

This particular complication cannot be diagnosed until just prior to a baby’s birth. In most cases, even, a labor has progressed normally up until the baby’s head appears. When the head then retracts between contractions and maternal pushes, the birth becomes an emergency. The newborn’s life is in danger, and there are only five to six minutes to get the baby out. Nassau and New York City Hospitals are forced to deal with these problems on many situations.

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