Pregnancy is a time joy, filled with excitement and some trepidation for what's to come. For many pregnant women, fear and anxiety surround the birth process and many are often subjected to unnecessary and potentially dangerous medical procedure and interventions that may result in birth injuries.

A recent study of 2,400 women conducted by a nonprofit organization, shed light on the fact that many pregnant women may be undergoing needless c-sections. For the study, women were asked questions about their birth experience and what methods of intervention, if any, were employed by doctors and nurses.

More than 40 percent of respondents said that their labor was induced, typically through the administration of a drug known as Pitocin. The medical need for such intervention, however, was often not clear or substantiated. In many cases, women were told labor needed to be induced as their babies were too large or their due date had passed. These reasons alone, however, do not warrant the need to induce labor and taking such medical action often results in additional intervention methods.

For example, of those mothers who had labor induced, three out of four were also then given an epidural analgesia. Of these mothers, one in three then ended up having an emergency c-section. When looking at statistics for women whose labor was not induced and did not receive an epidural, only five percent required an emergency c-section.

While other factors likely contributed to whether or not a mother was forced to undergo an unplanned c-section, the administration of certain medical interventions cannot be discounted. In essence, it's often best to let mother nature take its course. Women have been having babies since the beginning of time and while modern medicine has overall made the process of giving birth more comfortable and less risky for both mother and baby, in some cases less is still best.

Ohio mothers who suffered a pregnancy-related injury or whose baby suffered a birth injury as a result of a doctor's error or unnecessary medical intervention may choose to take legal action. In such cases, a medical malpractice lawsuit may be an appropriate means to recovering compensation related to injuries, permanent disability and medical expenses.

Source: Consumer Reports, "Pregnant? What out for unnecessary c-sections and other questionable medical procedures," Joel Keehn, May 8, 2013