Birth Injury Following High-Risk Pregnancy

High-risk pregnancies occur when the mother or baby has a higher-than-normal chance of a negative outcome following pregnancy or delivery.  There are many conditions that can cause a pregnancy to be labeled “high-risk,” such as:  

•    Pre-existing health conditions such as thyroid disease, lupus, fibroids, kidney disease, high blood pressure, obesity, etc.
•    Younger or older than average maternal age at pregnancy
•    Being pregnant with twins or triplets
•    Previous history of pre-term labor or birth
•    Birth defects in the fetus
•    Infection in the mother
•    A history of miscarriages
•    Placental abruption (when the placenta separates from the uterus)
•    Pregnancy-related health conditions such as pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, etc.
•    Certain lifestyle choices by the pregnant mother such as smoking, alcohol use or drug use

The sources are pretty consistent in their agreement that high risk pregnancies account for about 8% of all pregnancies in the United States, which doesn’t seem too high. But when you take into account the fact that maternal mortality rates are increasing in the United States, and that our maternal mortality rate is already double that of other first world countries, the dangers of having a high-risk pregnancy seem more real.   Certain factors can put someone even more at risk during a pregnancy. For example, black women are three times as likely to die from pregnancy complications as white women. Also, the rates of maternal mortality increase based on mother’s age. Women over 40 have a risk of maternal mortality more than 8 times higher than woman under 25.  

When a woman has been labeled “high-risk” during her pregnancy, the level of monitoring should be higher.  Her medical team typically will follow her more closely and more often in order to be able to catch any indications of a complication arising as early as possible. If the doctors know she is high-risk, but fail to monitor or respond to warning signs in a timely manner, the outcome could be tragic for mother or baby.  Some sources say that as much as 80% of maternal deaths are preventable.

If you or a loved one experienced a birth injury to mother or baby following a high-risk pregnancy and you feel that injury could have been avoided, please fill out the form on this page to have an attorney review what happened to you and determine whether you have a case.  At Siri & Glimstad, there is never any cost upfront to you for our representation. Our attorneys will evaluate your case for free to see if you have a claim. We get paid only if we win for you.