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Myth 5: The Perfect Baby Can Be Guaranteed

Obstetrics has suffered the most from unreasonable patient expectations. Defending unfounded birth injury claims is costly. Frequently, technically unfounded claims must be settled because of the difficulty of convincing a jury that the injury was not the physician's fault. These claims usually involve some improper action by the physician but one that had no influence on the health of the baby.

Birth injury cases are difficult to manage because obstetricians and institutional obstetrical service providers base their marketing on the illusion of the perfect baby. Every soft-focus advertisement for a woman's center implies that using its facilities will guarantee a perfect baby. Every advertisement for a fertility center begins with the premise that everyone can have, and should have, a baby. Physicians in dangerous locations (high altitude, areas with poor hospital support, or areas where snow or flooding can paralyze transportation) reassure their patients that these factors do not present a significant problem. Given these marketing ploys, it should not be surprising that juries expect obstetricians to be guarantors of their work.

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