When birth interventions cause a maternal pelvic floor injury

To many people, birth injuries are synonymous with poor medical outcomes for newborns. However, birth injuries can also affect mothers who have just given birth.

When the healthcare professionals fail to offer appropriate interventions or when they improperly perform medical interventions, the woman giving birth is at risk of serious injuries. Pelvic floor injuries are possible during labor and delivery, and they often relate to significant mistakes by the physician attending the birth.

Understanding pelvic floor injuries and their causes can help women take appropriate action if a doctor caused or negligently failed to prevent pelvic floor trauma.

What causes pelvic floor trauma?

The pelvic floor contains both muscles and connective tissues under the pelvis. They influence urinary and fecal continence, as well as the retention of internal organs.

Women giving birth could experience a mechanical injury caused by the tearing or forced movement of the muscle and connective tissue. Forceps are often to blame for mechanical injuries. They can also cause nerve injuries. Using forceps to facilitate a delivery can be helpful, but they can also cause injuries to both the mother and the unborn child.

Pelvic floor trauma can lead to issues with urinary and fecal incontinence. They can cause pain during sexual intimacy and may put a woman at risk of prolapse, which can cause major medical complications.

Was malpractice to blame?

Those who sustain injuries due to the medical care that they receive can sometimes hold physicians accountable. They can pursue a malpractice lawsuit if they prove either that the care they provided did not meet current best practices or that they were negligent.

The improper use of forceps is a common issue, and physicians should take care to ensure they do not injure either the mother or child when assisting a vaginal birth. If another physician could have performed the same intervention without harming the mother, then she may be able to pursue a malpractice claim.

Claims of negligence leading to pelvic floor injury could also provide grounds for malpractice lawsuits. If a physician failed to identify factors that increased a woman’s risk, such as a higher body mass index (BMI), advanced age or an unusually long second stage of labor, the doctor may not have offered proper interventions, such as a C-section, to avoid pelvic floor damage.

Reviewing the records of what happened during labor and delivery, and even during prenatal care, with a skilled legal team can potentially help women with pelvic floor injuries hold doctors accountable for failing to intervene or doing so in an unsafe manner that resulted in injuries.

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