Effects of childbirth on a woman’s body can be traumatic

On Behalf of | Jul 21, 2016 | Medical Malpractice

A woman’s body goes through a lot of changes during pregnancy. It goes through a lot of trauma during labor and birth. In some cases, that trauma can lead to long-lasting injuries that must be properly diagnosed and managed so that the women doesn’t end up living life in pain or having to deal with issues related to the injuries.

Sadly, many women end up having issues after giving birth that are simply overlooked by doctors and aren’t properly diagnosed. In some instances, that is because the woman doesn’t tell the doctor about the symptoms. In other instances, it is because the doctors just chalk it up to normal effects of birth.

There are many issues that a woman can suffer because of childbirth. One of these is the pelvic floor muscle damage. This can lead to fecal and urinary incontinence. This can lead to difficulties returning to work or getting back to the activities the woman enjoys.

Other issues that might occur include painful sex, back pain and pelvic bone fractures. Around 77 percent of 1,500 women studied for a piece published in PLoS One reported that they had persistent pain in their back at year post-delivery. Interestingly, 49 percent of the women in that study also reported urinary incontinence.

Another study, which was published British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology noted that painful intercourse 18 months post-delivery is present in around 24 percent of women.

The issues that women experience after childbirth might also be related to postpartum depression. That can lead to significant issues on its own, but it is something that might be avoided if proper diagnosis and treatment of all childbirth-related injuries occurs.

For women who suffer from these issues, missing work or having to incur more medical bills is often present. Those women might choose to seek compensation to help them reduce the financial impact of the birth injury.

Source: Cosmopolitan, “Millions of women are injured during childbirth. Why aren’t doctors diagnosing them?,” Laura Beil, July 18, 2016

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