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It is extremely important for pregnant women to receive attentive and thorough care during their pregnancy. Failing to diagnose even minor conditions in the mother can result is serious, permanent consequences for both the mother and child.
Malpractice For Failing To Diagnose Conditions In The Mother In Maryland
About 95% of pregnant women report at least one health issue during pregnancy, making proper prenatal care a vital part of pregnancy. Negligent care by doctors put the mother and baby at risk for greater complications. Adequate prenatal care is essential to keeping mothers and babies healthy, keeping pregnant women in regular contact with their doctors. It is also necessary for physicians to avoid prenatal care medical malpractice.
Medical studies have shown that mothers who do not have prenatal care have more complicated pregnancies as compared to mothers who undergo prenatal care.
If doctors negligently fail to perform proper diagnostic tests, or fail to recognize symptoms of complications in a pregnant woman, and the mother or child is harmed as a result, the doctor may be sued for damages.
Diagnosing Problems In Pregnant Women
A woman should start seeing a doctor as soon as she becomes pregnant, or even before pregnancy to help prepare her body. Her doctor should closely follow guidelines for prenatal visits, and should understand what kind of information is needed to assess the health of the baby and the progress of the pregnancy. Doctors should know what kinds of testing need to be done, and how often those tests should recur to best monitor the health of the mother and baby.
During prenatal exams your doctors should:
Ask about and understand your full medical history, including family health history for the father, and any medications the mother is on
- Answer any questions you have
- Do a physical exam
- Take routine blood and urine samples
- Monitor blood pressure
- Keep track of the baby’s growth and estimate a due date
- Monitor weight gain of the mother
- Monitor the baby’s vital signs
- Take regular imaging of the baby, like ultrasounds
A doctor may negligently fail to ask the proper questions, note the mother’s medical history, fail to communicate test results, or may use faulty equipment that results in inaccurate outcomes.
Pregnancy Complications
Conditions in the mother that lead to pregnancy complications can exist before pregnancy, or can develop during the pregnancy. You doctor should be able to monitor or treat conditions that can complicate the pregnancy. Complications in the mother might include:
- Diabetes
- Asthma
- Thyroid issues
- High blood pressure
- Obesity
- Infections
- Diseases in the mother than can be passed to the baby
- Gestational diabetes
- Anemia
- Multiple births, like twins
- Placenta previa
- Placental abruption
- Preterm labor
- A baby in breech position
- Baby is too large for a vaginal delivery, causing shoulder dystocia
- Maternal preeclampsia
- Ectopic pregnancy
- Miscarriage
Medical Malpractice From Failure to Diagnose and Treat Medical Conditions in the Mother
Doctors may fail to diagnose serious conditions in the mother as a result of human error, communication error, or equipment error. Doctors may fail to properly understand test results, fail to order the proper medical tests, or may not provide the proper treatment to pregnancy complications that cause birth complications. If the failure to diagnose led to serious health conditions for the mother or child, the doctor may be liable for medical expenses and emotional distress caused by the failure to diagnose.