With the rise of abortion bans in the United States following the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, options to terminate pregnancies of fetuses with abnormalities resulting in severe disabilities are slim.

In a recent publication, the ACOG updated its recommendation in the Committee Opinion for the diagnosis of suspected intraamniotic infection to reflect recent findings that postpartum maternal deaths may be attributable to intraamniotic infection despite the absence of maternal fever.

HPS Attorneys, Marilee Clausing and Kate Dzik, assisted by Madeline Engledow, secured a defense verdict on behalf of a Chicago area hospital in a wrongful death case in Cook County.

After appearing pro hac vice on several matters in Ohio, HPS Partner, David Kalimuthu, recently obtained his license to practice law in Ohio, expanding the firm’s standing ability to defend clients into that state.

Tania Dawood writes on the mystery of maternal morbidity in the face on modern medicine and how it impacts obstetrical providers.

HPS Attorneys Ben Patterson, Gina Ambrose, and Paige Krueger successfully defended a Chicago suburb hospital and obstetrician.

The First District Appellate Court affirmed HPS Team’s partial summary judgement in Cook County after a successful argument was brought by co-chair of HPS’ Appellate Practice, Hugh Griffin.

In the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, 14 states currently have near-total abortion bans with limited exceptions. These bans ultimately place medical providers in a difficult position.

One of the top causes of maternal death is postpartum hemorrhage. However, there are devices available to obstetrical providers to use in appropriate cases in addressing this potential complication.

A recent study by the CDC suggests that approximately 84.2% of postpartum deaths are preventable. When the CDC viewed the statistics to determine whether a death was preventable, the CDC asked was “there at least some chance of the death being averted by one or more reasonable changes to patient, community, provider, facility, and/or systems factors.”

Prior research has identified an association or correlation between moms with disabilities and elevated risk of preterm birth and low birth weight. A new study published in the September 2022 issue of Pediatrics, the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, found a mild to moderate increased risk of neonatal complications among newborns of women with disabilities compared with the newborns of women without disabilities.

The Women's Bar Association of Illinois (WBAI) announced today that Michele Anderson, Hiring Partner at Hall Prangle & Schoonveld, LLC (HPS), is one of the recipients of the 2022 Top Women Lawyers & Legislators in Leadership Awards.

Intrapartum uterine contractions and engagement of the fetus in the birth canal can compress the fetal head. There is a long-standing view that this head compression is benign in most cases, and that it’s a common cause of intrapartum fetal heart rate decelerations.

HPS Attorneys Marilee Clausing, Molly Pankauskas and Sarah Frazer successfully defended two obstetricians against claims that their care at a Chicago area hospital during the patient’s delivery resulted in neurological damage to the minor plaintiff.

Three HPS attorneys have been featured in the 2021 issue of Marquette Nurse, the Magazine for Marquette University College of Nursing.

In April 2021, the Society of Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM) issued a statement paper to provide guidance to obstetrical providers on managing the care of patients with amniotic fluid embolism (AFE) through a checklist created from standard management guidelines.

In the ever-evolving pandemic of SARS-CoV-2 (commonly referred to as Covid-19), there appears to be an ongoing shift in the medical community with respect to the question of whether Covid-19 can be transmitted in utero from mother to fetus. While early studies showed that transmission was unlikely, recent reports of apparent transmission have emerged creating conflicting findings.

According to a report posted on Frontiers in Pediatrics, doctors followed four pregnant women from the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic – Wuhan, China – who tested positive for COVID-19. The women all gave birth while actively symptomatic. The conclusion after testing and observation was that the COVID-19 virus did not pass from the mother to the fetus, and the infants were born without any of the respiratory signs of COVID-19.

A Google search of a phrase like "Birth Trauma causes Autism" will result in links to, inter alia, various legal websites asserting that trauma during labor and delivery is a cause of a child's autism or behavioral issues. The most recent of a series of medical articles, however, points to a potential alternative cause – maternal use of acetaminophen.

In the second standard, Reduce the likelihood of harm related to maternal severe hypertension/preeclampsia, there are six elements of performance.Both of these standards address prevention, recognition, treatment and education to improve maternal outcomes. While improving outcomes is a goal every organization will support, we feel these standards may also offer the opportunity to reduce potential liability and litigation.