What Are the Risks and Causes of Premature Birth? | Legal FAQ
What defines a premature birth, and what are the long-term health implications for the baby? In this FAQ video, we discuss the medical and legal aspects of premature delivery and the standard of care required to protect both mother and child.
In this video, we answer:
What is considered a premature birth? Understanding gestation periods and the 37-week threshold [00:06].
What are common health issues for premature babies? Risks involving respiratory problems, feeding difficulties, and potential brain injuries [00:32].
Can medical negligence cause premature delivery? How untreated infections or misdiagnosis can lead to early labor [01:21].
What is the doctor's responsibility? The importance of proper monitoring and timely referrals to maternal-fetal medicine specialists [01:39].
While many premature babies go on to lead healthy lives, a failure to monitor high-risk pregnancies can have life-altering consequences. If you have questions regarding the circumstances of your child's premature birth, contact Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. for a consultation.
For more information:
Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C.
161 N. Clark Street, Suite 4700
Chicago, Illinois 60601
https://www.salvilaw.com/
Phone: (312) 372-1227
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Transcript
Heidi Wickstrom:
Sometimes babies are born prematurely or delivered prematurely. So if a baby has not progressed yet to 37 weeks of gestation, and the normal gestation period is around 40 weeks, that would be considered a baby that's being born prematurely. So if it's 37 weeks or before. Some babies are born well before that time, and obviously, the more premature a baby is, the more the concern could be for certain health issues that could be involved with a baby being delivered so early. Some of the common health issues with premature babies are the baby could end up having feeding difficulties, brain injury and developmental delay, respiratory problems, liver or kidney problems, just issues generally with the baby's health due to them not being able to develop long enough in mom's womb. However, there are plenty of times when babies are born prematurely and they're completely fine, or they're delivered and perhaps they have an extra longer stay in the hospital, but after some care, they're completely fine. So, just because a baby is premature doesn't necessarily mean that something is wrong with the baby or the baby is going to have long term issues. But it is something to consider that obviously you want the baby to progress as normally and as long as possible in mom's womb before delivering the baby.
There is a potential for medical negligence to contribute to a premature delivery or premature birth. For example, if mom had an infection that isn't properly treated or misdiagnosed, that can lead to baby having to be born prematurely or mom going into labor prematurely. Other circumstances that may amount to negligence that can result in a premature birth are improper monitoring of mom, failure to refer mom potentially to a maternal fetal medicine specialist to make sure that if it's a baby that's more high risk, if there's a potential for injury to the baby or health issues to the baby, properly monitoring to make sure that they are watching the baby and delivering the baby as safely as possible, even if they are going to be born prematurely.
