New Illinois Law Says Every Woman Has Safe Pregnancy and Childbirth Rights
New data published on January 30, 2020, by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Vital Statistics System, shows that the U.S. maternal mortality rate was 17.4 maternal deaths per 100,000 live birth in 2018. And an average of 19 women will die within 12 months of pregnancy in the Chicago-area, according to a 2019 report by the Chicago Department of Public Health.
On January 1, 2020, an Illinois law took effect which amends the Medical Patient Rights Act to delineate 21 rights of women during pregnancy and childbirth through Pregnancy and Childbirth Rights (HB 2).
As introduced, the Act:
“Provides that every woman has certain rights with regard to pregnancy and childbirth, including the right to receive care that is consistent with current scientific evidence about benefits and risks, the right to choose her birth setting, the right to be provided with certain information, and the right to be treated with respect at all times before, during, and after pregnancy by her health care professionals and to have a health care professional that is culturally competent and treats her appropriately regardless of her ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religious background. Requires the Department of Public Health, Department of Healthcare and Family Services, Department of Children and Family Services, and Department of Human Services to post information about these rights on their publicly available websites. Requires every health care provider, day care center, Head Start, and community center to post information about these rights in a prominent place and on their websites, if applicable. Requires the Department of Public Health to adopt rules to implement the provisions. Effective immediately.”
Mom’s Rights Can Protect Her Child from Birth Injury
Fifty thousand women suffer from life-threatening complications of pregnancy each year. Most of these complications will be preventable or at the least treatable, according to the CDC. The primary complications that account for nearly 75 percent of all maternal deaths include:
- severe bleeding (mostly bleeding after childbirth)
- infections (usually after childbirth)
- high blood pressure during pregnancy (pre-eclampsia and eclampsia)
- complications from delivery
Maternal health can be jeopardized by a mother’s lack of rights to care and access to scientific evidence to make thought-out delivery decisions. This can result in faulted clinical obstetric care and create an increased risk of preventable childbirth-related complications, including birth injuries to infants.
Contact a Chicago Birth Injury Lawyer at Levin & Perconti
If you suspect medical negligence may have contributed to a maternal death or injury to a newborn during delivery and your rights as a pregnant woman were violated, please contact Levin & Perconti toll-free at 877-374-1417, or in Chicago at (312) 332-2872 for a FREE consultation.
