Flatal Incontinence due to Misdiagnosed Perineal Tear
If you are suffering flatal incontinence due to poor management of perineal damage during childbirth, it might be appropriate to make a claim for compensation.
Flatal Incontinence
The misery of flatal incontinence can have wide-ranging effects:
- Many areas of employment may be inaccessible for a woman who cannot prevent the passing of wind: education, retail, the care sector and hospitality to name just a few.
- Maintaining social contact can be extremely difficult and cause considerable anxiety for someone who has lost control of their bowels
- Fear of embarrassment can leave a woman isolated and reluctant to leave their home, making simple daily tasks hard to achieve
- Personal relationships can come under strain
- The psychological impact of these physical and financial problems can be severe
- For a woman who has just given birth, these difficulties can impact on her ability to bring up and support her child
Unfortunately, flatal incontinence can occur as a result of a vaginal birth. For most women any damage to the area around the vagina caused by the birth clears up in the first few months after the birth. However, if a woman has suffered a severe tear which has not been diagnosed or repaired, incontinence, both of wind and faeces, can become a fact of life.
Severe birth tears
This degree of damage and severity of symptom is caused by what are called obstetric anal sphincter injuries, or third and fourth degree tears. Third and fourth degree tears occur as the baby is born and cause a tear which extends from the vagina, across the perineum to the anal sphincter muscles which control the bowel. Varying in severity, they can cause urgency, incontinence and, should a fistula develop between the rectum and the vagina, leakage of wind and faeces from the vagina.
Such appalling symptoms can be devastating to a woman's life.
If these symptoms continue long-term and are due to a failure by medical professionals to provide an acceptable standard of medical care, it might be possible to make a claim for compensation for the associated pain, suffering and financial losses.
The possible impact caused by third and fourth degree tears should ensure that medical professionals are scrupulous in their examination of women who have given birth vaginally. Occasionally, however, this is not the case, and a severe tear of the perineum and anal sphincter may be missed or misdiagnosed.
As a result, the woman may not receive an effective repair and may go on to suffer shocking symptoms for the rest of her life.
Speak to a solicitor
If you are struggling with the long-term impact of flatal incontinence due to poor-quality care following the birth of your baby, contact Glynns to talk to a specialist medical negligence solicitor.
It might be appropriate to make a claim for compensation.
Please call us on 0800 234 3300 (or from a mobile 01275 334030) or complete our Online Enquiry Form.
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