Couple Filing Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit Seeks $36 Million and Ban On Water Births

Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center in Northwest Portland began performs water births as a safe “alternative birthing option” for women who wish to deliver in a “calm and serene environment” and “a gentler welcome for baby.” However, the birth of a baby born on December 14 2011 did not go as planned, prompting a $36 million cerebral palsy lawsuit and a call for an end to water births at all five state Legacy Health System birthing centers.

Birth injury lawsuit tells a tragic story

According to the birth injury lawsuit, Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center midwives failed to:

• Warn the couple of risks associated with water births
• Speak openly and honestly about their candidacy for water labor
• Monitor the fetal heart rate continuously
• Observe that the baby was oxygen-deprived
• Deliver the child on time
• Recommend cesarean section when it was needed
• Adequately train midwives and nurses
• Have an obstetrician on duty
• Resuscitate the child immediately

Are water births dangerous?

Water birth is an increasingly popular trend by people who believe it minimizes the stress of labor on both mom and baby, decreases the time spent in labor, and reduces the need for pain medication. WBUR Radio states that about 10 percent of U.S. hospitals and birth centers are equipped with birthing tubs. However, water births are considered controversial in some circles, especially among doctors who say there is no evidence that they are safer.

A joint study conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists found that 12 percent of babies in water births suffer breathing problems that require transfer to special neonatal care units after birth. By contrast, none of the babies born outside water required that type of care. They concluded that “the practice of immersion in the second stage of labor should be considered an experimental procedure.”

Legacy states that “low-risk” pregnancies are good candidates for water births, but the Oregon couple states that there were “complications” throughout the pregnancy, so the baby should not have been considered low-risk. Had they known of the risks associated with water births or that they were not good candidates for this method of delivery, the couple states they would have elected for a cesarean section birth instead.

Amended cerebral palsy lawsuit calls for a limit on birthing options

As a result of the botched water birth, the now four-year-old boy suffers from cerebral palsy, hearing loss, and other disabilities requiring life-long care. The lawsuit is asking for $23 million to cover the baby’s current and future medical expenses, $10 million for pain and suffering, and another $3 million to compensate for the child’s long-term disabilities.

In an amended lawsuit filed in January, the couple asked the Portland judge to shutter the water birth program at all Legacy facilities, except for those involved in a controlled, experimental study.

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