Recently, USA Today had an interesting story about the number of large-weight babies born in the country, with some newborns weighing 13, 14 and even 15 pounds. While it may be entertaining to some (probably not expecting mothers), a large birthweight can cause complications during a child’s delivery. This is why healthcare providers have a duty to track and monitor a child’s weight prior to birth. To be clear, the U.S. National Library of Medicine says that an average birthweight range is between 5.5 pounds and 8.8 pounds, according to USA Today. There are also reports that there has been a 15 to 25 percent increase in babies weighing 8 pounds and 13 ounces or more in the past two to three decades. When a child has a larger weight, sometimes 10 or more pounds, it carries a risk for both the child and mother. Larger babies are more likely to cause women gestational…
Read More »
Birth Injury and Cerebral Palsy Attorneys Home
Are there Birth Injury Risks for Larger Babies?
January 23, 2019NJ Family Awarded $20 Million in Birth Injury Case
December 26, 2018According to Law.com, a Union County, New Jersey jury recently awarded a family $20 million in damages after a child suffered brain injuries prior to her birth. A jury found that two doctors failed to promptly treat the woman despite the fact that she was showing fetal distress prior to the child’s birth. The child, born in 2011, now has cerebral palsy. In the lawsuit, the family claimed that a technician discovered that the girl developed intrauterine growth retardation during an ultrasound check at the 33rd week of pregnancy. However, a report sat in the maternal fetal medicine medical office for four days detailing the retardation before it was faxed to the mother’s obstetrician. The retardation caused the child to lose weight because it was not getting proper nutrition. Lawyers claimed in the lawsuit that it would have been the proper standard of care for an official from the maternal…
Read More »
Woman Awarded $8.9 Million for Child’s Shoulder Dystocia
November 14, 2018A Minnesota woman was awarded $8.9 million after her child was allegedly mishandled during his delivery, leading to shoulder dystocia. According to StarTribune.com, a Hennepin County jury awarded the mother compensation last month after she said a local healthcare provider and midwife ignored her concerns over the size of her baby prior to his birth. The child, born in 2016, severed a broken right arm and nerve damage during the birthing process. His mother claimed in the lawsuit that she had concerns about his large size, but a certified nurse-midwife said the boy was not that large during care sessions. However, when the delivery occurred, the child weighed 10.5 pounds, nearly 3 ponds larger than the average American birth weight. The child’s size resulted in shoulder dystocia, a complication in which the baby’s head passes through the birth canal but the shoulders get stuck. The lawsuit alleged that the midwife…
Read More »
