Losing a Baby After a VBAC
When a uterine rupture results in death of the baby.
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Article written by Brendan Lupetin, Esq. Brendan is a managing partner in the law firm of Lupetin & Unatin, a medical malpractice law firm located in Pittsburgh and serving Western Pennsylvania.
Our practice is limited to high-value catastrophic cases because that is where we can do the most for our clients and for patient safety.
There is no harder loss than the death of a baby. If you came to this page, it is likely because your family is living through that loss right now, and because you are carrying a terrible question alongside your grief. You went into the hospital to welcome a child. You came home without one. You need to know what happened, and whether it should have happened at all.
This page is written with care for families who have lost a baby during or after a trial of labor. It explains, gently and honestly, how a uterine rupture can end in death, and how a grieving family can find out whether that death was preventable.
How a rupture can take a baby’s life
A trial of labor after cesarean, often called TOLAC, carries the risk that the old cesarean scar on the uterus will tear during labor. This is a uterine rupture.
When the uterus tears, the baby can lose its oxygen supply within minutes. The placenta may separate from the uterine wall. The baby may be pushed out of the uterus and into the mother’s abdomen. Any of these can cut off the oxygen a baby needs to survive. If delivery and resuscitation do not come fast enough, a baby can die before birth or in the period soon after.
We say this not to add to your pain, but because families feel that being shielded from clear information made things harder, not easier. You deserve the truth.
A rare outcome, but a foreseeable one
Death from a uterine rupture is uncommon. But uncommon is not the same as unforeseeable. Every hospital that offers a trial of labor knows that rupture is the risk, and that a rupture can be fatal to the baby.
Because the danger is known, the law expects a hospital to be prepared for it and to respond to it properly. A death that follows a known, foreseeable emergency is not automatically anyone’s fault. But it is also not automatically blameless. The question is whether the care met the standard a family had every right to expect.
What proper care should have looked like
A trial of labor demands careful management from beginning to end. Several things should have been in place to protect your baby.
Your candidacy for a trial of labor should have been assessed honestly and adequately. A trial of labor should not have been recommended if your history made it too dangerous. Your labor should have been continuously monitored, so the first sign of trouble could be caught. Labor-inducing drugs like Pitocin, if used, should have been used cautiously. The hospital should have been equipped to perform an emergency cesarean quickly. And when warning signs appeared, the team should have moved without delay to deliver your baby and to resuscitate.
A failure at any of these points can be the reason a baby did not survive. A rupture that was missed on the monitor. A response that came too slowly. A hospital that was never prepared. A trial of labor that should never have been offered.
Why finding the truth matters
Nothing can undo your loss. We know that. A legal claim cannot bring your baby back, and money is not what brings a grieving family peace.
But many families tell us that what they need most is the truth. They need to know what happened in that room. They need to know whether their baby could have lived. They need accountability, so that another family might be spared the same loss. A careful, honest investigation can provide answers that a hospital may not have given you. For some families, those answers are an important part of being able to grieve.
Pennsylvania law also allows the family of a child who has died because of negligence to bring a claim. This is recognized as a wrongful death claim. It exists because the loss of a child is a profound harm, and the law treats it as one.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is not wrong, and it is not too soon. Seeking answers is a natural part of grief, not a betrayal of it. Reaching out does not commit you to anything, and it does not mean you have decided to pursue a case. It simply means you would like to understand what happened. Many families find that having the truth helps them grieve. You can take that first step whenever you feel ready, and we will move at a pace that respects what you are going through.
You are not required to accept it without an independent review. The hospital and its providers are describing their own care. That is not the same as a neutral examination of the record by outside specialists. An independent review of the complete record, including the fetal monitor strips, can confirm what you were told or reveal a different story. You have a right to that independent look.
Nothing upfront. An initial review and consultation with our office is free. We handle wrongful death and medical malpractice cases on a contingent fee basis, which means you owe no attorney fee unless we recover compensation for your family. There is no financial risk in finding out what happened.
How Lupetin & Unatin can help
At Lupetin & Unatin, we handle catastrophic birth injury and wrongful death cases, including the loss of a baby during or after labor. Attorney Brendan Lupetin and attorney Greg Unatin take a small number of these cases so that each family is met with patience, care, and the full attention of a partner.
Our firm has recovered record verdicts and settlements in catastrophic injury and medical malpractice cases, and we bring that experience to every birth injury matter we take.
We understand that reaching out is hard. There is no pressure and no obligation. If you decide to speak with us, we will obtain the complete medical record, including the fetal monitor strips, and have it reviewed by maternal-fetal medicine specialists and neonatologists who can explain what happened and whether it could have been prevented. We will handle the investigation so that you can focus on your family. If your baby’s death was the result of negligent care, we are prepared to pursue accountability and justice on your behalf.
Talk to a Pittsburgh Birth Injury Attorney
If your baby or your family was harmed during a trial of labor after cesarean, the attorneys at Lupetin & Unatin, LLC are here to help you find answers. We offer free, confidential consultations, and we handle medical malpractice and birth injury cases on a contingent fee basis. You pay no attorney fee unless we recover compensation for you.
It is important not to delay. Pennsylvania law limits the time you have to file a claim.