When are C-sections medically necessary?

On Behalf of | Sep 5, 2019 | Uncategorized

You might have heard a story or two about doctors scheduling C-sections for unnecessary reasons. Perhaps a woman wants to make sure she can have her baby before a planned vacation or the doctor is going out of town and schedules a birth accordingly. Even so, there are definitely medical reasons that make C-section the best course of action in certain circumstances. However, it’s important to realize that a non-vaginal birth requires surgery and with surgery, there is always a safety risk.

If your obstetrician recommends a C-section, you have every right to question the recommendation. You might even want to seek a second opinion. A lot can go wrong during any kind of surgery and with a C-section, there are two people’s lives at risk. Sadly, medical negligence is a problem in New Mexico and throughout the country.

Know how to know if a C-section is really needed

Are you the type of person who is hesitant to question a doctor because you automatically think he or she knows more than you do? In a perfect world, doctors would never give bad advice or make medical mistakes. In reality, it happens all the time. The following list includes legitimate reasons that might warrant a birth by Cesarean section:

  • If you have high blood pressure and you are nearing your due date, your OB might recommend a C-section to prevent a later birth. Maternal high blood pressure is a high-risk condition that calls for specialized care.
  • In many hospitals, if you’ve had a past C-section, it requires all future births to be C-sections as well. Some women have challenged this policy.
  • Adverse health conditions such as placenta previa can cause high levels of blood loss during vaginal birth.
  • Some maternal health conditions place babies at risk for infection if they pass through the birth canal. Such conditions include issues like herpes virus or HIV, in which case, the attending physician might inform the mother that a C-section birth would greatly lower the infant’s risk of contracting infection during the birth process.
  • You might labor for hours and not show signs of progression. This would cause the average obstetrician concern, which, in turn, might prompt him or her to recommend a C-section.

No matter what the details of your particular situation might be, you have the right to reasonably expect your doctor and entire medical team to adhere to industry regulations and safety protocols. A single act of negligence could place you and your baby at great risk for serious, if not life-threatening injuries.

If that happens

It would be devastating to go to the hospital to give birth and wind up having to try to save your baby’s life or have your life hanging in the balance because a nurse, doctor or technician didn’t do what was supposed to be done. It has happened to women in New Mexico and elsewhere, many of whom sought financial accountability against those who caused their injuries.

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