Every expectant mother should be able to choose the type of labor and delivery experience that best suits her needs and the anticipated medical needs of her baby. For example, many Pittsburgh mothers choose to have their children in alternative birthing locations, such as at home or at a birthing facility, as opposed to giving birth in hospitals. In addition to having a say as to where she will give birth, an expectant mother should have the ability to choose what, if any, medications she will take as she works to bring her baby into the world.
Some mothers wish to experience childbirth at its most intense and forego all numbing medications. Others choose to do everything they can to eliminate pain so that they can enjoy the process of meeting their new children. However, all mothers who elect to use anesthesia during labor and delivery may face complications and birth process problems of their medical professionals do not properly monitor them.
Some anesthesia-related issues cannot be anticipated and are true complications, as opposed to medical malpractice mistakes. Others, however, become birth-related conditions and injuries when doctors administer too much medication, cause spinal damage in the administration of epidural drugs and subject their patients to anesthesia-related harm that should otherwise be prevented.
The effects of anesthesia-related mistakes on mothers and babies can be devastating. These often preventable issues can be traced back to errors made by doctors, nurses and other hospital personnel involved in the labor and delivery of babies. Women and children who have endured anesthesia mistakes during labor and delivery may have legal rights to compensation for the losses they have experienced.