Quote:
Originally Posted by kaplods
I once read that OB/GYN's, far more than any other type of doctor, face the most malpractice lawsuits. That could mean that OB/GYN's screw up a lot, or that patients just think so, possibly because the potential results of complications are so severe.
Like most things in life, I'm sure it's a bit of both. If the incident results in the death and/or injury to an infant, there is **** to pay and people will not let it go. Often, with other type of malpractice incidents, people are less willing to go into the lengths it really requires to conduct a malpractice lawsuit (that, and the ability to show direct causation is probably likelier). In this sense, I feel OBGYNs will be bigger 'targets' in terms of who will or won't file suit.
On the other hand, OBGYNs are just that, medical doctors who in North America now oversee even the most simple routine labours, something that really doesn't need to be in their jurisdiction. A midwife and doula is perfectly capable of supervising and conducting most deliveries, and have been shown over and over again to use less medical interventions with successful results.
OBGYNs, often reserved only for complicated labours (pre-E, gestational diabetes, transverse breech, multiples) in most countries, are forced to oversee and supervise routine births and IMO, tend to jump the gun and encourage medical interventions to speed things up/make it easier to manage.
With some labours, such as mine (I was 5'5, 160lbs, and in the gym the day I was suddenly induced), it can have disastrous consequences. I simply should have been left alone. But I trusted them, and my boy paid the price for it. She was a good woman, the OBGYN, but things should have been done differently from the start.