Hospitals Pressure Patients to Deliver Babies by C-Section in Maryland
In the United States, the medical community’s purpose is to ensure the safety of its patients. The Hippocratic oath that is taken by medical professionals holds them to a high standard in the care and treatment that they give their patients. People seek out medical help when they are at their most vulnerable and scared. Even routine medical decisions require that a patient consult a doctor who will let the patient know about any possible risks associated with the procedure. Childbirth is not a medical procedure immune from a patient seeking out medical opinions on the best way to labor and deliver one’s child. A soon-to-be mother is looking to medical professionals to deliver her child in a way that will save not only her life, but the life of her baby.
A Lack of Standardization in Advising C-Sections Throughout the Medical Profession
However, studies show that depending on the hospital that a woman chooses to deliver at, she may be more likely to have to undergo an unnecessary Caesarean Section. According to Consumer Reports, about one in every three babies are delivered by cesarean section (also known as “C-section”), which roughly 1.3 million babies a year. The major issue plaguing hospitals currently is the lack of standardization and guidelines detailing when a C-section should be performed or when a woman’s delivery is at a low risk, and a vaginal delivery is preferable.
Necessity and Risks of C-Sections
C-sections are important procedures when vaginal delivery is impractical because of risk to the mother, baby, or both. Vaginal deliveries are considered preferable because they are less invasive and often result in less recuperation time. C-sections can be risky because the baby is removed from the mother through surgery, and with any surgery, there comes the possibility of serious complications for the mother such as hemorrhaging, infection, and death.
Why Hospitals Pressure Patients into Choosing Unnecessary C-Sections
Many hospitals push for unnecessary C-sections because natural, vaginal births can be time-consuming and can keep medical professionals from additional patients. The faster a delivery can occur, the quicker a medical professional can move on to the next patient, bringing more revenue to the hospital. It has been estimated in an article by the New York Times that C-sections can cost 50% more than vaginal births, making them the more lucrative choice and creating an incentive for doctors and hospitals to push C-sections. Additionally, if a woman undergoes a C-section for her first birth, studies have shown she is more pressured to have a C-section for any additional children she is expecting to have. This fact, coupled with the costs associated with post-C-section care for mothers, ultimately suggests that hospitals are incentivized to push C-sections to doctors and then on to their patients.
A recent study demonstrated that when patients are well-informed or are themselves, doctors, they are less likely, in the event of low-risk births, to acquiesce to the procedure, knowing that vaginal deliveries are often safer.
Charles County, MD Personal Injury Lawyers that Fight for You
If you or your loved one was pressured to deliver your child by C-section during a low-risk birth and were injured as a result, it is important to consult with an experienced Waldorf personal injury attorney. Please call the Law Office of Robert R. Castro at (301) 804-2312 for a confidential consultation.
