When a pregnant woman prepares to give birth, her body releases a hormone called oxytocin. While oxytocin plays an important role in developing feelings of love and bonding in mammals, it also makes the uterus contract during labor. Strong, regular uterine contractions are essential not only for pushing out the baby, but also for ensuring the entire placenta is expelled and preventing postpartum hemorrhaging. 
When labor is prolonged, or if it has not started at all, there can be health risks to the mother and the infant. To speed up labor, sometimes a drug known as pitocin can be…
Continue Reading What Kinds of Birth Injuries Can Be Caused by Pitocin Induction?

Because of the complexity and unpredictability of symptoms of cerebral palsy in young children, parents often struggle to manage the various treatment options and their effectiveness. Research is continually being done on how cerebral palsy can be treated and managed and one treatment that may be helpful for some children whose cerebral palsy has caused a leg length discrepancy is leg lengthening treatment. Research has shown that leg lengthening treatment can be an effective way to manage the difficulties of a leg length discrepancy, but it also has serious risks and parents should consider this option carefully before committing their…
Continue Reading Are Leg Lengthening Treatments Effective for Children with Cerebral Palsy?

 Cerebral palsy is a complex group of disorders caused by brain damage that has a wide variety of symptoms. Usually, the damage that causes cerebral palsy occurs during early development before a child is born. However, sometimes cerebral palsy can result from medical malpractice during birth because of issues like delayed delivery, improper use of assistive tools like forceps, and breech birth. If you recently found out that your child has cerebral palsy, you may want to know more about what this diagnosis might mean for you and your loved one. Here are some of the most…
Continue Reading Common Health Challenges in Children with Cerebral Palsy

Depression and anxiety are extremely common in Illinois residents, with more people than ever now seeking therapy and medication to treat these disorders. Living with depression and anxiety can be crippling, and finding out you are pregnant can increase your nervousness and worries. Balancing a mother’s health and wellbeing with potential risks to a developing fetus can be tricky, and this is perhaps never more true than when a doctor is giving a pregnant mother medication. 
While most medications for depression and anxiety are safe for infants in utero, some medications have side effects that may cause serious harm to…
Continue Reading Can Mental Health Medication Cause Birth Defects?

Infants who are born prematurely face a challenging set of health and developmental hurdles that their fully-developed peers do not. Doctors, nurses, and other neonatal care staff must provide the highest standard of care to ensure that prematurely born babies are given the tender care and cautious monitoring that they need during this fragile stage of life. Unfortunately, carelessness or negligent mistakes can contribute to neonatal injuries and death, leaving bereaved parents with an overwhelming feeling of confusion or loss. 
Negligence and Neonatal Intensive Care
The vulnerability of prematurely born infants naturally exposes them to risks and dangers. Sometimes,…
Continue Reading Could My Premature Infant’s Death Be Caused By Medical Malpractice?

Women in Illinois who experience a miscarriage often experience overwhelming grief, trauma, and physical pain. While miscarriage is a fairly common experience, that does not make it any easier if it happens to you or someone you love. Beyond the sadness of the loss of a life that a mother may already feel she knows and loves, miscarriages can also be extremely painful and result in additional physical complications. Although most miscarriages happen naturally, sometimes they occur because of the careless actions of a doctor or hospital. When this happens, parents may wonder whether they can take legal action. 
What…
Continue Reading Did Getting Poor Healthcare From My Doctor Cause Me to Miscarry?

Pregnancy and childbirth are difficult processes that present significant dangers to Illinois women. Certain behaviors from a woman’s obstetric healthcare providers, such as negligence or malpractice, can seriously compound these dangers to the point that women may suffer from life-threatening injuries and maternal mortality. 
One leading cause of maternal mortality is that of maternal sepsis – a dangerous infection that generally begins in a woman’s uterus and triggers a full-body immune response system severe enough to injure organs and other bodily tissues. While sepsis is generally more dangerous to women who already suffer from other health issues, it can…
Continue Reading Sepsis After Childbirth May Be a Sign of Medical Malpractice

The birth of a child is a wonderful experience for most parents, but it comes with significant risks and dangers to mothers. Maternal mortality in the United States is significantly higher than other developed nations with comparable health systems, and neglectful or careless acts on the part of healthcare providers can seriously endanger the health and even the life of a mother before, during, and after childbirth. 
One rare but potentially lethal risk to Illinois mothers during childbirth is that of an amniotic fluid embolism. An amniotic fluid embolism occurs when the amniotic fluid surrounding a baby in the…
Continue Reading My Wife Suffered an Amniotic Fluid Embolism During Childbirth. Can I Sue Her Doctor?

While the birth of a child is typically a joyous event for parents, it carries serious risks to both an infant and her mother. One rare but potentially debilitating risk is periventricular leukomalacia, or PVL, which can occur when brain tissue is injured or dies. While the cause of PVL can be difficult to determine, a lack of blood flow to the brain during childbirth is clearly linked to PVL and PVL is much more common in preterm infants. 
Doctors and nurses in Illinois who are delivering an infant or caring for a pregnant mother must be aware of…
Continue Reading Periventricular Leukomalacia – What Is It, and How Does It Happen During Childbirth?

Every day, parents in Illinois experience the joy of welcoming their newborn into their arms. For some parents, however, what should be an exciting experience turns into a nightmare when a delivery becomes complicated and an infant suffers severe injuries or death. Spinal cord injuries during childbirth are rare, but they have life-threatening consequences for babies who suffer from them. A lifetime of intensive medical care may be necessary, and your child may never be able to live independently. If your infant suffered from an avoidable spinal cord injury during childbirth because of negligent medical care, consider getting help…
Continue Reading Could My Infant’s Spine Have Been Damaged at Birth?

Cerebral palsy is a complex group of neural disorders that can cause weakness or damage to the development and function of someone’s brain and how it communicates with his or her muscles. Different people exhibit different symptoms of cerebral palsy, and the effects can range from mild difficulties when walking to permanently debilitating intellectual or physical conditions that require full-time care.
Cerebral palsy can be caused by many factors before, during, and after birth when a child’s brain is rapidly developing. Most cases of cerebral palsy are thought to be congenital, meaning they develop through no fault of the child’s…
Continue Reading Was my Child’s Cerebral Palsy Caused by Medical Malpractice at Birth?

Pregnant women in Illinois are at an increased risk of many injuries and diseases. Every year, around 700 women in the United States die as a result of pregnancy or childbirth, and experts estimate well over half of these deaths could be prevented with proper medical care. 
Preeclampsia is a particularly dangerous condition that tends to happen later in pregnancy. Left undiagnosed and untreated, preeclampsia can cause serious complications and birth injuries that can be fatal for a mother and her child. It is crucial for maternal medical caregivers to recognize signs of preeclampsia early and monitor patients very carefully.
Continue Reading Can I Do Anything if My Chicago OB-GYN Failed to Diagnose My Preeclampsia?