Unnecessary episiotomy increases risk of birth injury compensation claims
At YouClaim we can help you to make a birth injury compensation claim for an unnecessary or mismanaged episiotomy.
A study from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSM) suggests that episiotomy, or routine surgical widening of the vagina during delivery, does not reduce the risk of birth injury to infants during a complicated delivery and can increase the risk of unnecessary trauma and personal injury to the mother.
Edith Gurewitsch, M.D., of JHUSM and lead author of the study, said that many obstetric textbooks would recommend a generous episiotomy to dislodge an infant, yet there is no evidence that the procedure reduces the likelihood of birth injury to the infant.
She adds, “Episiotomy will only eliminate soft tissue barriers to delivery, whereas rotating the infant will realign its shoulders to fit within the mother’s pelvis. It is the bony pelvis that is widely acknowledged as the main cause for the infant getting caught in the birth canal."
Episiotomy carries risk for the mother, yet when a baby’s shoulders get stuck towards the end of delivery, a condition known as shoulder dystocia, there is urgent need to complete delivery in order to avoid infant brain damage or suffocation. Attempts to remove the baby manually can result in shoulder injuries such as brachial plexus palsy and physicians will, under many circumstances, perform episiotomy rather than to let the vagina tear naturally, in an attempt to speed up delivery and reduce such birth injury.
In the Johns Hopkins study, the team examined medical records of 592 cases involving difficulty in delivering the baby’s shoulders. The aim was to determine whether routine episiotomy was more effective in preventing shoulder injury than manual manoeuvring or a combination of both techniques.
After close study of 127 cases of the most severe shoulder dystocia, it was revealed that the rate of brachial plexus palsy was not significantly different between deliveries where the infant was manually rotated and deliveries where manipulation was coupled with episiotomy, 58% and 60% respectively. In the cases that used manipulation without episiotomy, 50% of the women were left with their vaginas intact and there were 35% fewer shoulder injuries to the babies.
Gurewitsch adds, "An episiotomy is a surgical procedure that should only be performed when it is absolutely necessary. We now know that it does not help prevent brachial plexus palsy in the infant during shoulder dystocia, whereas the procedure may cause harm to the mother through unnecessary trauma from surgery. Indeed, the procedure puts the mother at increased risk of post-surgical infection, bleeding and pelvic floor disorders, such as long-term discomfort during intercourse, flatulence and possible incontinence."
YouClaim and birth injury compensation
Any medical intervention carries a risk of injury, none more so than birth intervention. If you feel that intervention in your labour, such as mismanaged episiotomy or shoulder dystocia, has caused you or your baby birth injury, you may be able to make a birth injury compensation claim.
We understand the pain and distress of birth injury claims; our medical negligence solicitors are amongst the most experienced in the country and are governed by the stringent regulations of the Law Society.
Whilst the complexities of birth injury medical negligence claims mean that some charges may be unavoidable, we assure you that we will advise you fully before you commit to them and in a won case we will always reimburse you. If you wish to discuss a birth injury compensation claim, please call our confidential helpline now on 0800 10 757 95 or you can request a more convenient time when we can call you back. Alternatively, fill in the online claim form and we will look into your compensation claim before we call you to discuss it further. Above all, at YouClaim we are here to help.
