New York Birth Injury Lawyers: Failure to Detect Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes is a complication during pregnancy that may result in delivery problems because of macrosomia, maternal pre-eclampsia, and neonatal hypoglycemia. According to Nursing in Practice, “It is important for primary care providers, including practice nurses, to be up-to-date with current diagnostic criteria, treatment and management of these (pregnant) women to reduce adverse outcomes.” Failure to detect gestational diabetes and to prescribe ways to counter their negative effects may be considered malpractice, and skilled New York birth injury lawyers can help those who have suffered for this reason.

Thousands of pregnant women are affected by gestational diabetes. It is quite a common occurrence in pregnancy that, if left unchecked, may result in a number of medical complications for both the mother and the child. Early identification of women with gestational diabetes can help prevent further risks and long-term complications.

Infants risk getting high blood glucose levels and extra insulin to compensate for the additional blood glucose. Both of these can cause the development of fetal macrosomia or “fat baby” syndrome. Developing macrosomia, in turn, could lead to a number of birth injuries.

It is an obligation of obstetricians to know if their patients have gestational diabetes in order to protect the unborn child. Around the 24^th to 29^th weeks, the mother must be screened with a glucose leading test to detect gestational diabetes. Those with risk factors, such as women who are overweight, women who smoke, and those who are pregnant at an old age, should be screened much earlier, as early as their first prenatal visit.

There are also other factors that come into play. For example, if there is a short time interval between pregnancies, or if the women have immediate family members with diabetes, they are prone to getting gestational diabetes.

Gestational diabetes is very much avoidable if it is detected and treated early. The obstetrician must check the glucose levels of the mother during labor and delivery and check if she has high blood sugar, which could cause the baby to have low blood sugar.

Women who suspect malpractice or negligence, which led to a complicated delivery and birth defect due to gestational diabetes, should get in touch with a birth injury lawyer in NYC such as those from The Law Offices of Joseph Lichtenstein, who have had cases of birth injuries in the past and would know just what to do to help.

(Source: Gestational diabetes in primary care, Nursing in Practice, March 26, 2015)