Urogynecologist: What You Need to Know Before Giving Birth
When we think of childbirth, we think of images of glowing mothers, healthy babies, and joyful beginnings. But for far too many women, the postpartum experience is marred by pain, dysfunction, and confusion—all stemming from birth injuries they never saw coming.
In a recent Guardian interview, Dr. Jocelyn Fitzgerald, a urogynecologist at the University of Pittsburgh, sounded the alarm about how little women know about the physical toll childbirth can take. Urogynecologists specialize in disorders of the pelvic floor. “We portray motherhood as this beautiful calling—and for some women, it is,” said Dr. Fitzgerald. “But that doesn’t change the fact that the calling comes with some real costs.”
According to Dr. Fitzgerald, some of the most common but underdiscussed injuries include:
- Vaginal tearing, which ranges in severity from second-degree tears to more severe third- and fourth-degree tears involving the anal sphincter.
- Pelvic organ prolapse, which can occur when the muscles that support the bladder, uterus, and rectum weaken or are injured during delivery.
- Levator avulsion, a lesser known but serious injury in which pelvic floor muscles detach from the pubic bone, often contributing to long-term complications.
- Incontinence and sexual dysfunction, which affect a significant percentage of postpartum women but are often dismissed or misunderstood.
- Clitoral, labial, or urethral tears, which are rarely discussed and often missed at the time of delivery.
Dr. Fitzgerald notes that roughly 30% of women experience postpartum incontinence and up to 50% may experience painful intercourse—statistics that would be alarming if more widely known. Yet many patients suffer in silence, convinced that what they’re experiencing is rare, or worse, their fault.
As a result, Dr. Fitzgerald reported that women often visit their doctor for the symptoms months or even years after giving birth. By then, injuries that could have been addressed early may have become chronic or more difficult to treat.
This is exactly where legal advocacy comes in. While not all birth injuries result from negligence, some do—whether from improper use of forceps or vacuum extraction, failure to recognize fetal distress, or inadequate postpartum care. And when that happens, women and families deserve answers, support, and if appropriate, justice. Tom Duffy has recovered birth injury settlements in excess of $20,000,000. If you would like to speak with a top Philadelphia birth injury attorney in Philadelphia, contact us to set a time to speak about your legal options.