Birth Injuries

Of every 1,000 babies born in the United States, 6 to 8 are born with a birth injury. This means that roughly 1 in every 9,714 people in the country is born with some type of a birth injury. Statistics reveal that approximately 28,000 infants are born with birth defects every year.

According to a study in 2006, every year, medical errors in the United States cause harm to roughly 1.5 million people across the country. Each year, approximately 28,000 babies are born with birth injuries. According to Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) data, the highest number of birth injuries is caused by the use of forceps or vacuums – 160.5 deliveries out of every 1,000. It is also revealed that over a period of one year, almost 157,700 injuries that are potentially avoidable are sustained by mothers and babies during childbirth.

Many New York mothers-to-be may be planning to deliver via a cesarean section. A study showed that complications due to anesthesia given in C-sections fell by 25 percent between 2003 and 2012 in New York hospitals. However, non-anesthetic perioperative complications rose by about 50 percent.

A cesarean delivery can result in a long recovery period for a mother, but there are cases in which this procedure may be medically necessary to protect the life of either the mother or the child. C-section rates in New York and throughout the country are significant, higher than the rate deemed to be ideal by the World Health Organization. WHO indicates that the ideal rate for surgical deliveries is between 10 and 15 percent, but a study published in the Journal of American Medical Association suggests that 19 percent is better. The study used information from more than 50 nations and data from numerous C-section births to arrive at this value.