4 Complications of Inducing Labor
Inducing labor can be life-saving in crisis situations. However, the truth is that there are risks to this medical procedure that could have serious consequences. Many doctors use a drug known as Pitocin to induce labor. Pitocin is a synthetic form of oxytocin, one of the hormones involved in the facilitation of natural delivery. While it is sometimes beneficial in emergency situations, it can also cause suffering, injury, or even death to the mother or baby.
How Pitocin Works
Normally, a woman’s body releases enough oxytocin on its own to stimulate the labor process. However, if doctors feel they must rush the process for some reason, they can use Pitocin to hurry things along. Using too much Pitocin at once can cause extremely painful contractions, but the danger is that the cramps can be too long or too close together, which can cause problems for the mother and the baby, including:
- Lack of oxygen for the baby. During contractions, the baby gets less oxygen, and in this sense Pitocin misuse can seriously threaten the well-being of the child
- Lack of oxygen or the contractions themselves can cause fetal distress, causing the baby’s vital signs to register at dangerous levels and potentially resulting in brain damage
- Tears or trauma to the cervix
- Internal bleeding in the mother, which can put both mom and baby at risk
These types of injuries could cause the child to face ongoing medical issues for the rest of his or her life, and it could even lead to the unnecessary death of mother or child.
Contact Us
If your baby was injured and you think it may be connected to an improper birth induction, contact a Philadelphia birth injury attorney of Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C., at 215-238-1130 today.