Labor and Delivery: What Your Doctor Should Be Doing

• Be Aware of a Laboring Mother’s Condition

Some women’s labors drag on for hours. Even if their labors last for more than a day, their physicians are still expected to be informed of their patients’ progress and be ready to act in case of an emergency. In fact, a woman who is experiencing a lengthy labor might need her doctor to intervene and be ready to perform a cesarean section if necessary. A doctor who is not on hand or ready to act could result in the injury or death of the mother, the infant, or both.

• Using Birth Instruments Correctly

When a woman is not able to push her baby out safely, she should expect her doctor to be able to use the necessary birthing instruments correctly. Many physicians use vacuums or forceps to help birth large babies who cannot pass through the birth canal easily. The use of these instruments should not be left to the nursing staff. Because of the possibility of injury to the mother or baby, only a doctor should use those instruments. A mother who is injured or has an infant who is injured because of the incorrect use of a vacuum or pair of forceps may have legal grounds to sue her doctor.

• Supervising Labor and Delivery Staff

Most hospitals require that L&D nurses deliver at least one infant a year in order to retain their licenses for this medical specialty. When a nurse is called upon to deliver a baby, he or she should be supervised by an attending physician. While many nurses are exceedingly competent in delivering low-risk babies, other deliveries could result in the death or injury of mother or child if the nurses are not properly supervised. For the safety of both patients, a mother should expect the nurse delivering her child to be watched over by a competent obstetrician.

•   Acting Promptly to Fight Infections

Pregnant women undergo Group B strep testing in the sixth or seventh month of their pregnancies. Even so, this infectious agent or other diseases that could infect the baby and jeopardize the health of the mom and infant can be overlooked during routine testing. Even if all of her tests have come up negative, a woman still has reason to expect her doctor to recognize the signs of infection and be ready to administer antibiotics quickly. If she is running a fever, lethargic, or showing other signs of infection, a mother needs to rely on her obstetrician to act promptly and save her life and that of her child.

Giving birth is not necessarily the risk-free event as some people dismiss it. Women are encouraged to safeguard themselves and their infants by knowing what obligations their doctor has to them during their labors and deliveries.