Michigan Prenatal Injury Attorneys
Pregnancy is a complicated process that can cause changes in the mother’s body chemistry. These changes are to be expected, but when a physician doesn’t properly address and manage the associated risks, the consequences can be devastating, including cerebral palsy, mental retardation and developmental disability, vision and hearing loss, seizures, and infant death. If proper precautions aren’t taken during pregnancy, it can cause issues during delivery and after birth.
Blood Pressure Problems
Hypertension, or high blood pressure, in the mother during pregnancy can potentially harm the development and viability of the baby. Hypertension can be:
- Chronic or long-term (starting before the pregnancy) or
- Gestational (starting after the 20th week of pregnancy)
Other related conditions include:
- Preeclampsia, a form of gestational hypertension that involves a high level of protein in the urine, and
- Eclampsia, which causes the mother to develop grand mal seizures.
When high blood pressure problems are not properly diagnosed and treated, they can increase the risk of neonatal brain injury and infant death.
Blood Sugar Problems
Diabetes is a disease involving high levels of blood sugar or blood glucose. When diabetes pre-exists pregnancy or occurs during pregnancy (gestational diabetes) and is not properly managed by the mother’s obstetrician, it can cause various complications that can threaten the health of both mother and child.
Left untreated, gestational diabetes can pass additional blood glucose from mother to infant, causing the child’s pancreas to produce extra insulin. This can in turn lead to macrosomia, which causes excessive fetal weight and size that can bring on early labor and delivery accompanied by respiratory distress and breathing difficulties.
Gestational diabetes can lead to further health concerns for the mother, including preeclampsia and excessively high blood pressure, organ damage, and longer-term Type 2 diabetes, and is also associated with an increased risk of fetal death.
Decreased Blood Flow to the Baby
As the mother passes blood to the fetus, it necessary oxygen and nutrients necessary for brain development. When blood flow to the brain is compromised (brain ischemia), brain cells are deprived of oxygen for too long a period of time, they die off and pose a threat of permanent brain damage.
Lack of blood flow from mother to baby can be caused by:
- Separation of the placenta from the uterine wall (placental abruption)
- Preeclampsia and eclampsia
- Abnormally rapid contractions
- A compressed umbilical cord
- Infections
Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (partial oxygen deprivation) or anoxic ischemic encephalopathy (total oxygen deprivation) forces the baby’s body to make up for the lack of blood and oxygen to the brain by diverting it from major organs like the liver and kidneys, which can cause organ damage.
Infections
Mothers with bacterial and viral infections during pregnancy risk transmitting those infections to the baby via the placenta before birth or by direct contact during labor and delivery – threatening miscarriage, birth defects, or neonatal complications.
Prenatal and perinatal infections include:
- Group B streptococcus is a bacterial infection found in a pregnant woman’s vagina or rectum. An estimated one in every 2,000 babies in the U.S. is affected by Group B strep, although not every baby born to a mother who tests positive the infection will become ill.
- Genital herpes, a viral infection that remains in the body and can be reactivated later, can be transmitted during labor and delivery. The occurrence rate is approximately one in every 3,200 deliveries with an estimated 1,500 cases of neonatal infections each year, and the impact of the disease can devastating.
- Other infections such as salmonellosis, cytomegalovirus, varicella (Chickenpox), erythema infectiosum (“Fifth Disease”), listeriosis, and toxoplasmosis
Blood Type Issues
In some instances, the mother’s blood type is different from the baby’s, known as Rh incompatibility, which is determined by a test administered in the beginning stages of pregnancy.
Rh incompatibility creates a situation in which antibodies in the mother’s blood can attack the baby’s red blood cells and Rh antigens. If the antibodies enter the placenta it can lead to various threats:
- Anemia
- Jaundice
- Fatigue
- Elevated bilirubin levels
- Low muscle tone
- Brain damage
- Heart failure
- Stillbirth or infant death
Pregnancy and the birth of your baby should be an exciting and joyous time in your life, but it is not without risk. If medical errors have jeopardized your health or the health of your baby, you need to consult an attorney with deep experience in birth injury cases and obtaining significant verdicts and settlements. You need Sommers Schwartz.
We fight hard. And we win.
News & Case Alerts
Read related articles and learn about recently filed cases.
Praise for Wage & Overtime Pay Attorney Jesse Young
Jesse Young worked an employment case for me that ended with almost 700 people getting their unpaid wages back. He and his team are incredible. From the first communication to the last, they never missed a single beat – consistent and clear communication, quickly replying to my communication, and always making…
Praise for Jesse Young and Alana Karbal
Alana Karbal and Jesse Young did an excellent job fighting a giant for my wages. They pushed me to get what they needed from me and were amazing at communicating with me at all times. I won my arbitration and was so excited when I got more than what I…
A Client’s Gratitude for Tad Roumayah
Tad, I want to express my sincere gratitude for your unrelenting advocacy on my behalf throughout this process. It’s a shame that this sort of thing is still happening to new moms in 2023 and at an institution that prides itself on diversity, equity, and inclusion, no less. Knowing there…
Comments about Matthew Curtis from an Appreciative Client
Your efforts have changed my life, Matt. I’m forever grateful. My wife has tons of upcoming medical expenses, and we had both been working hard to make ends meet. I can’t thank you and your staff enough.
Praise for Lisa Esser-Weidenfeller and Matthew Curtis
I am writing to express my sincere gratitude for your hard work and dedication in handling my case. I appreciate your professionalism, your compassion, and your perseverance throughout this challenging process. You have gone above and beyond to protect my rights, to defend my interests, and to secure a favorable…
A Client Talks about Andy Dragovic
My wife had an accident, tripping over a cable line that wasn’t buried. Andy represented us and were very pleased with the outcome. Andy was very professional, personable, and quick to respond to us, answering any of our questions or concerns. The whole firm was responsive to our concerns, and…
Praise for Dina Zalewski
The lawyers at Sommers Schwartz, P.C. were nothing short of amazing when I came to them with my medical malpractice case! Dina truly helped to put my mind at ease and because of her and her firm, I finally have closure and can begin my healing process! I just want…
Gratitude for Rob Sickels
When our world was shattered by an unexpected medical diagnosis, we were referred to Rob Sickels of Sommers Schwartz. What a blessing to get this referral as Rob listened to us with caring and compassion, spent all the time necessary to help us, was always honest with us about our…
Our Clients Say It Best
