Roughly one in 40 pregnancies is ectopic, which means the egg is fertilized somewhere outside the womb, often in the fallopian tubes. Doctors usually terminate these pregnancies because they pose a significant health risk to the mother and because the fetus has a small chance of surviving. However, sometimes the methods doctors use to terminate an ectopic pregnancy can cause unintended consequences if they misdiagnose the mother’s condition.
“Those fetuses that are misdiagnosed as ectopic and were actually in the uterus receive high doses of teratogenic drug during early stage of development, and that causes malformations,” said Dr. Yaron Finkelstein, a physician at Sick Kids Hospital. He was quoted in an ABC News story about a woman whose child suffered birth defects after doctors misdiagnosed her pregnancy as ectopic and administered a drug called methotrexate, which caused serious birth defects in an otherwise normal pregnancy.
Studies Show High Rates, High Risk of Misdiagnosis
Finkelstein performed a study on eight women who received methotrexate following a false diagnosis of ectopic pregnancies. Of those eight women:
– Three had miscarriages just weeks after treatment
– Three terminated the pregnancy after hearing about the risk of birth defects
– One gave birth to a stillborn
– One gave birth to a child with “severe malformations”
A study from 2002 said that nearly 40 percent of women diagnosed with ectopic pregnancies do not actually have them.
The woman from the news story filed a lawsuit against the hospital after her daughter was born without a rectum, vagina or uterus, and with a malformed spine. If a doctor’s mistake led to your child’s condition or injury, you have options to set things right. Schedule a free consultation with us to learn more about your rights.
Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP – birth trauma attorneys
