While Common, Dizziness and Fainting Should Not be Taken Lightly by Pregnant Women and their Doctors. Failure to Investigate the Potential Cause can Lead to Serious Injuries in New Jersey.
A woman’s body undergoes tremendous changes once she becomes pregnant. It’s no wonder so many pregnant women feel dizzy and faint, especially in the first trimester. Some dizziness, along with nausea and vomiting, is common in the early stages of pregnancy when blood sugar levels and hormones shift. Low blood sugar could cause lightheadedness. On the other hand, dizziness and fainting could be signs of a more significant health concern.
While dizziness and fainting may be normal pregnancy symptoms, they may also be something a doctor should check. A pregnant woman should not assume all is as it should be. That assessment is her doctor’s to make. Dehydration and fatigue may be the cause of dizziness, but a pregnant woman should report dizziness and certainly fainting to her obstetrician.
Dizziness and fainting may be signs of a heart condition or other underlying problems threatening the pregnancy and the health of the mother and baby. A medical condition that places both lives at risk may require consistent monitoring to protect the life of the woman and developing child so that further complications do not develop. As such, doctors must investigate the cause when a pregnant patient reports blackouts and dizziness. If the medical provider responsible for your care during pregnancy fails to diagnose and treat a health problem causing your fainting and dizziness, they may be legally responsible for injuries that result from their medical malpractice.
Our seasoned team of New Jersey medical malpractice and birth injury lawyers can assist with reviewing your case and ascertaining whether you may be entitled to seek compensation for a physician’s or hospital’s failure to provide adequate care. Contact us anytime at (866)-708-8617 for a free consultation.
Fainting During Pregnancy can Indicate More Grave Health Issues for Mothers and Babies
A 2019 study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA) discovered that 1% of the 481,930 patients studied experienced syncope or brief blackouts. After reviewing 481,930 birth records of babies born between 2005 and 2014 in Canada and their mothers, researchers concluded that fainting in the first trimester correlated with premature births, maternal heart conditions, low birth weight babies (when a mother fainted more than once during pregnancy), and more blackouts.
Underlying Conditions that May Result in Dizziness and Fainting During Pregnancy
In the first few months of pregnancy, women may forget that hydration is critical to avoid feeling faint. Nausea and vomiting, typical in the first trimester, may cause dehydration and dizziness. Sleeplessness and standing up too quickly may also cause dizziness. However, fainting may be a sign that something is wrong. Shortness of breath and dizziness while seated or lying flat in bed are signs of potential trouble. Additionally, fainting in the first trimester does not bode well for the rest of the pregnancy.
In the second trimester, when nausea and vomiting are less frequent, a pregnant woman begins to feel energetic and hungry. So, dizziness at this stage is more concerning but may be due to logical causes, such as the growing fetus compressing a mother’s blood vessels, stemming the blood flow. Vertigo is another condition that may appear in the second trimester. This condition feels like the room is spinning or objects are moving when they are not. The sensation may be dizziness. A doctor can run tests to confirm and treat vertigo.
Third-trimester dizziness could indicate a severe pregnancy problem, such as hypertension or preeclampsia, which is marked by high blood pressure and is a dangerous condition that many women in the U.S. experience at week 20 or later. Preeclampsia is hazardous to the fetus when it causes reduced blood flow. Prematurity may be the result, as can other serious conditions and birth injuries that can impact a newborn for a lifetime. Undiagnosed preeclampsia can also lead to severe maternal birth injuries and even death due to a stroke and other complications during and after labor and delivery.
Untreated preeclampsia also commonly turns into eclampsia, which is characterized by seizures. In addition, preeclampsia increases the risk of maternal fatality or susceptibility to cardiovascular disease later. Thus, preeclampsia testing is considered routine for all pregnancies. To diagnose preeclampsia, a competent OBGYN checks for increased protein levels in a patient’s urine, organ problems, neurological conditions, and fluid in the lungs.
Other Conditions that May be Cause for Alarm when You are Lightheaded or Blackout while Pregnant
Aside from dehydration, vertigo, and preeclampsia, dizziness or fainting with vaginal bleeding or sharp stomach pains may be signs of placental abruption. This relatively uncommon but life-threatening condition typically occurs in the third trimester. It occurs when the placenta detaches from the uterus, which affects the baby’s food and oxygen supply. Another condition with similar symptoms is ectopic pregnancy. Ectopic or tubal pregnancy happens when an egg is fertilized somewhere other than the uterus, most commonly in the fallopian tube. When undetected, the tube can burst from the growing embryo.
Placenta previa may also be signaled by dizziness. This condition occurs when the placenta lies low over the cervix, covering it wholly or partially. When the condition persists past 30 weeks, a doctor may decide how best to deliver the baby safely. Other symptoms accompanying dizziness and fainting are associated with anemia, which can cause headaches, heart palpitations, and blurred vision. Insufficient iron typifies the condition.
What Accompanying Symptoms May Indicate a Potential Problem?
When dizziness and fainting occur with abdominal pain, vaginal bleeding, shortness of breath, blurry vision, heart palpitations, or headaches, a doctor should run tests to look for other severe conditions that are fatal or harmful to the baby, the mother, or both.
Measures for Mothers to Reduce the Risk of Fainting and Dizziness During Pregnancy
Avoiding dizziness and fainting involves healthy practices, such as hydrating, taking iron supplements, eating regularly, avoiding standing too long, getting up slowly, eating small meals throughout the day, and wearing loose clothing.
When a Doctor may be Responsible for Your Pregnancy Dizziness and Fainting-Related Injuries
Most importantly, getting quality healthcare during pregnancy can help to avoid catastrophic results from fainting and dizziness. The doctor’s role in preventing complications by investigating and treating these symptoms is essential to a healthy pregnancy and delivery. If a physician does not test a pregnant woman to diagnose the source of the symptoms, they may be deemed negligent in causing harm to the mother and baby.
If a Medical Professional Failed to Investigate the Source of Your Fainting and Dizziness During Pregnancy, Our Knowledgeable NJ Legal Team is Here to Assist You
If you suffered complications, your baby sustained birth injuries, or you lost a pregnant woman or infant you loved due to an undiagnosed problem causing fainting and dizziness during pregnancy, our New Jersey lawyers are prepared to fully review the circumstances of your case, answer your questions about what went wrong, determine who is at fault, and explore what options are available to address the harm. We have a vast understanding of maternal and birth injury law and our attorneys have the insight necessary to investigate the facts to find evidence of negligence. With our experience, our legal team is skilled at linking medical negligence to damages incurred and proving these claims, which is at the heart of a medical malpractice action for failure to provide proper care during pregnancy.
Our attorneys are committed to zealously pursuing compensation for losses to you and your child physically, emotionally, and financially. Contact us online or by calling (866)-708-8617 to speak with a member of our team today.
