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Oregon residents may have heard that patients undergoing certain types of medical procedure on a Saturday or Sunday are more likely to develop complications or have a poor outcome than those who are treated during the regular workweek. This has been labelled the...
In Oregon and around the country, obstetricians often use electronic fetal monitoring devices on pregnant patients. Large-scale trials using continuous EFM were done in the late 1980s, and it became clear that EFM was not lowering risks during birth. More research in...
According to the Merck Manual, birth injuries are defined as any injury that occurs during the process of birth -- many babies experience minor injuries such as abrasions or bruises when passing through the birth canal. Some babies even experience minor damage to...
There is a difference between a birth injury and a birth defect. But as we pointed out in our previous post, both can cause similar chronic health problems that can challenge an Oregon family for the remainder of everyone's life. Whether the issue is cerebral palsy,...
Birth injuries and defects are not something that any expectant parent wants to think about. It's understandable that they would rather focus on the joy of bringing a new life into the world. Unfortunately, not every child comes out of the womb in perfect shape....
In our previous post, we looked at how medical standards have changed in recent decades. As we noted in that entry, there has long been a certain geographic bias that has resulted in variations in care standards across the country. Those standards have started to...
There has always been a certain level of geographic variation in medical practice. That was perhaps a lot truer in decades past when there were no generally accepted standards of evidence-based practice. Back then, the standard of care was whatever was practiced at...
Life is such a precious commodity. Is it any wonder then that when mistakes during delivery cause injuries that erode the life possibilities of a child, there is a desire to hold someone responsible? Proving the case isn't always easy, however. Consulting an attorney...
The birth of a child is not like setting a bone or suturing a cut. It's a nine-month process. That's capped by a period of labor and pain for the mother. If everything goes according to nature, the baby is born and all is good. Most of the time, that's what happens....
Bringing a child into the world is natural. It is not necessarily easy. There can be physical difficulties associated with the mother's pregnancy. Labor can be complicated by many factors. The old African adage says it takes a village to raise a child. It seems to...