Medical Malpractice Lawyers

Believe Your Cleveland Birth Injury Attorney: Birth Can Be Especially Traumatic

Suffer from a traumatic birth? You’re not alone. As any birth injury attorney in Cleveland will tell you, birth is difficult and a surprising number of mothers suffer from  posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTS) after birth, including some with full blown  posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

In fact, Lamaze International’s Listening to Mothers Survey II found that 9 percent of new mothers suffered from PTSD after their birth, while a full 18 percent suffered from PTS. Furthermore, ethnicity can have a profound effect on the numbers. Indeed, more than 1 out of 4 non-Hispanic black mothers suffered from some form of PTS after birth.

“The high percentage of mothers with elevated posttraumatic stress symptoms is a sobering statistic,” the study’s authors noted.

Birth: Psychologically More Traumatic than Terrorism?

Perhaps more surprising, giving birth can be statistically more disturbing psychologically than surviving a terrorist attack. Health psychologist and international certified lactation consultant Kathleen Kendall-Tackett points out in a blog on Women’s Health Today:

“In the weeks following September 11, 7.5% of the residents of lower Manhattan met those full criteria (Galea et al. 2003). Take a minute to absorb these statistics. In at least one large study, the rates of full-criteria PTSD in the U.S. following childbirth are now higher than those following a major terrorist attack.”

The outcome may be a bundle of joy that is also the light of your life, but birth can be difficult. If you suffered from a difficult birth, make sure you have the resources you need, including medical, legal and financial. Talk to a Linton Law Firm birth injury attorney in Cleveland for a free consultation.

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