Elective Early Deliveries Can Cause Health Problems in Infants
Indiana medical malpractice attorneys know that there are certain cases where an early delivery of an infant may be necessary to save the mother’s or infant’s lives. However, it appears that early elective deliveries - that is delivery before the 39-week gestation period is complete, without any medical reason- are widespread across the country.
The information comes from a study conducted by hospital safety advocacy group, Leapfrog. The organization analyzed early elective delivery information voluntarily submitted by more than 770 hospitals around the country. According to Leapfrog, 770 hospitals that voluntarily submit information to it exceeded the 12% target rate for early elective deliveries. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that early deliveries not be conducted before the 39-week gestation period is complete, unless there are medical reasons for it.
As Indiana medical malpractice lawyers, we were astounded to find that the early elective delivery dates in some hospitals is as high as hundred percent. However, there are great variations in early elective delivery rates even in the same community. One thing is clear-there are far too many babies that are being delivered early without any need for such medical intervention. There are some situations in which medical intervention is needed to deliver the baby, as in cases where the mother is suffering from hypertension. In such cases, an early delivery is necessary for the health of both the mother and the child.
Early deliveries without medical reason could cause harm to the child. For instance, infants who are delivered too early could suffer from ill-developed liver and lungs, because these organs develop in the latter weeks of pregnancy. Besides, these infants are more likely to suffer from jaundice, and have respiratory difficulties. These infants also have trouble maintaining a steady body temperature, and may have feeding and latching issues.
