Doctors done in by stillbirths, deaths

ANN ARBOR, Mich., July 1 (UPI) -- Nearly 1 in 10 U.S. obstetricians have considered giving up their practice because of the emotional toll of stillbirths and infant deaths, researchers say.

Dr. Katherine Gold said about 15 percent of U.S. pregnancies end in early losses -- before 20 weeks gestation, 1.3 percent of pregnancies end in either stillbirth -- losses after 20 weeks but before delivery, or infant death -- deaths in the first year of life, most in the first week.

On average, the typical obstetrician performing 140 deliveries a year could encounter nearly two dozen women with a miscarriage and one to two with stillbirth or infant death, the study says.

"Obstetricians want to see a healthy baby. When a fetus or baby dies, the loss can be devastating for the physician," Gold, the lead author of the study, said in a statement "We know that stillbirth and infant death are traumatic events for families; this study suggests that they are also traumatic for the physician."

The study, published in the July issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, found 43 percent of obstetricians who responded said they had worried about disciplinary or legal action due to a perinatal death with no identified cause.