Studies demonstrate ways to reduce birth injuries at hospitals

According to the Director of Obstetric Services at the University of Pennsylvania, there are steps that can be taken by hospitals that would prevent birth injuries from occurring. In part, this involves employing staff members that can help in the coverage of obstetrics and various birth issues. Hospitals that employed such individuals saw as much as a 15 percent decrease in preterm deliveries or circumstances that led to the inducing of labor.

Other studies have also supported the idea of hiring on individuals that specialize in this area of medicine. Having these so-called laborists on staff saw reductions in cesarean deliveries.

One study has suggested that providing this sort of care may actually be cost effective. But even with possible added costs of hiring on these employees, preventing a birth injury case from occurring is well worth the expense.

Birth injuries such as cerebral palsy often lead to a lifetime of care and medical complications. Jury verdicts in medical malpractice have often been well in excess of a million dollars. One study suggested that the hiring of these laborists could reduce stillbirths by as much as 83 percent, birth injuries by approximately 17 percent and other deaths by 13 percent.

As these studies demonstrate, failure to provide certain services may demonstrate that hospitals can be held accountable for birth injuries occurring. If you have any questions about the manner in which birth injuries came about, you may want to discuss your individual situation with a medical malpractice attorney that understands how these birth injuries occur.

Source: MedPage Today, “New OB Care Models Boost Birth Outcomes,” by Crystal Phend, Feb. 19, 2013