Ruptured placentas, birth injuries and compensation claims

A ruptured placenta birth injury is the detachment of a placenta from the uterus before the foetus is delivered and is also known as 'abruptio placentae'.

Essential nutrients, oxygen and vitamins are sent to a baby before it is born via the placenta which is connected to the mother's blood supply. It also connects with the baby's blood, removing the baby's waste and transferring it to the mother for her kidneys to process.

If the placenta detaches during pregnancy before the baby is born, then bleeding can occur. The larger the area that detaches, the greater the bleeding.

The placenta has other functions which are crucial for normal pregnancy. These include production of hormones that play a role in triggering labour and delivery. The placenta also helps to protect an unborn baby from infections and potentially harmful substances.

A ruptured placenta birth injury is a condition in which the placenta begins to detach and bleeding occurs. The larger the area that detaches, the greater the bleeding.

There are many possible causes of a ruptured placenta, but the actual cause is often unknown. Hypertension (high blood pressure), smoking, multiple pregnancies and car accidents can all contribute to a ruptured placenta.

Medical negligence can occur if the mother and baby are not properly monitored during the delivery process and a ruptured placenta is not detected and dealt with appropriately, causing a birth injury.

Symptoms of a ruptured placenta
The most common symptoms of a ruptured placenta birth injury include vaginal bleeding, abdominal pain, nausea, thirst, fainting, blood in the amniotic fluid and decreased foetal movement.

Sometimes a ruptured placenta birth injury is not diagnosed until after delivery, when clotted blood is found behind the placenta.

Treatment for a ruptured placenta
There is no way of stopping placenta from rupturing during a birth injury. Treatment of the woman involved depends on how much she is bleeding and the physical condition of her unborn baby. An immediate blood transfusion may be required if severe blood loss has occurred.

A clotting test should be carried out to establish clotting ability. Failure of a clot to form after seven minutes or a soft clot that breaks down easily can indicate coagulopathy - a cause and result of massive obstetric haemorrhage.

Ruptured placenta compensation claim
Having a baby should be an extremely joyous time of a woman's life, but in the event of a birth injury that occurs during the delivery process, parents may feel that medical negligence has taken place on the part of the attending obstetrician and other medical staff.

If medical negligence has occurred, you may be able to make a compensation claim with YouClaim. We can give you free legal advice and our panel of personal injury solicitors deal with birth injury claims on a daily basis and have an excellent success rate.

We guarantee that 100 % of all damages awarded will go directly to you if your claim is successful. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain, so why not get in touch today to see how we can help you.

To contact the personal injury compensation claim experts here at YouClaim, fill in an online form and we'll call you back or give us a call any time of the day or night on 0800 10 757 95.