Georgia woman says her baby was decapitated during delivery. How often does this happen, and do you need to worry?

A woman is suing a hospital in Georgia and health care providers after she says her baby was decapitated during delivery.

The story has left people across the country horrified and raised a lot of questions about how something like this could happen. Here's what you need to know.

What happened?

Jessica Ross, 20, says in the lawsuit, per CNN, that staff at Southern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale attempted to hide the way in which her baby died. Ross alleges in the suit that she went into labor on July 9 but her baby, who she named Treveon Isaiah Taylor Jr., did not descend due to shoulder dystocia, a complication in which a baby's shoulders become stuck in the vaginal canal.

Ross claims in the lawsuit that the doctor "attempted to deliver the baby vaginally using different methods, including applying traction to the baby's head." The suit charges that the doctor used "ridiculously excessive force" on the baby's head and neck to try to deliver him, the Associated Press reports.

Health care providers also "failed to practice according to medical standards" and "failed to do a Cesarean section in a timely and proper manner, resulting in Treveon Isaiah Taylor Jr.'s decapitation and death," the lawsuit claims, per CNN.

Ross's attorney, Roderick Edmond, said in the lawsuit per the AP that the baby's body and legs were removed during a C-section procedure but the baby's head was delivered vaginally. The lawsuit also said that Ross and her boyfriend, Treveon Isaiah Taylor, requested a C-section earlier than it was performed.

A spokesperson for Ross and Taylor told CNN in a statement that the couple was not allowed by medical staff to hold their son — they could only view him.

"During this viewing, their baby was wrapped tightly in a blanket with his head propped on top of his body in a manner such that those viewing him could not identify that he had been decapitated," the statement said.

In a statement from Southern Regional Medical Center, which "denies the allegations in the complaint referencing the hospital," hospital officials told CNN that the physician who delivered Ross was not an employee of the facility. "Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers are with the family and all those impacted by this tragic event," the statement said.

This is very rare, but it's happened before

The case is horrifying, but this isn't the first time a baby was decapitated during birth. In one 2014 case, Laura Gallazzi's baby Steven was decapitated as she attempted to deliver him in a hospital 25 weeks into her pregnancy. Gallazzi told the BBC that she "felt a pop" and was confused when she didn't hear her baby cry after he was delivered. She later needed a C-section to remove her son's head from her body. A medical tribunal later ruled that Gallazzi's doctor was wrong to attempt a vaginal delivery rather than a C-section, but cleared her of serious misconduct.

Are there any red flags that this could happen?

Shoulder dystocia is a condition that happens when one or both of the baby's shoulders get stuck during a vaginal delivery, Cleveland Clinic explains. But there are no signs and no way to prevent the condition from happening, the medical center says.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists also called shoulder dystocia "unpredictable" and "unpreventable." While there is no way to predict if a baby will experience shoulder dystocia during delivery, Cleveland Clinic says there are several risk factors, including having a large baby, having gestational diabetes, having a short stature, having a small pelvis or having a baby that is in the wrong position.

"Shoulder dystocia happens after the head comes out," Dr. Angela Caswell, an ob-gyn and co-founder of Women's Wellness of Southern Delaware, tells Yahoo Life. "We in obstetrics have all managed them and they are scary."

Decapitation as a result of shoulder dystocia is not common, says women's health expert Dr. Jennifer Wider. "It's incredibly rare," she adds. More common complications include nerve damage to the baby, a compressed umbilical cord that can cut off oxygen and blood flow to the baby, heavy maternal bleeding after giving birth and separation of the mother's pubic bones, Cleveland Clinic says.

What to do if your baby has shoulder dystocia

"Shoulder dystocia is a medical emergency that can cause a variety of maternal and/or fetal complications," Wider says. Meaning, your doctor or care provider will need to act fast to try to help you and your baby.

If your baby experiences this, doctors will typically try several maneuvers to get the baby into a favorable position for delivery, Cleveland Clinic says. In severe cases, they may break the baby's clavicle to release their shoulders, push the baby's head back into the uterus and deliver the baby by C-section, or make a cut in the cartilage between the pubic bones to enlarge the pelvic opening, the medical center says.

Things can get hectic in the delivery room when addressing shoulder dystocia, but Wider says that "women and advocates should feel comfortable to address all concerns before and during the delivery."

"Certainly patients should speak up about their wishes," Caswell says. "It is OK to do a C-section upon maternal request alone, but this comes with risk too."

Should pregnant women worry?

Shoulder dystocia is a relatively uncommon complication, but the risk of it happening increases with larger babies. The complication happens in 0.6% to 1.4% of babies weighing between 5 pounds, 8 ounces and 8 pounds, 13 ounces at birth, Cleveland Clinic says, but the rate increases to 5% to 9% of babies born weighing more than 8 pounds, 13 ounces.

But again, decapitation is incredibly rare. In fact, one scientific paper says that any "permanent effects or fatal outcomes occur infrequently," and that includes all severe consequences of shoulder dystocia — not just decapitation.

Wider stresses that expectant moms shouldn't worry about this happening to them. "Decapitation is incredibly rare and should not be at the top of an obstetrical concern list," she says. "It may be wise to have a discussion prior to delivery about what plan is in place in case of shoulder dystocia — this may allay any fears."

Caswell stresses that this is rare. "I have never heard of a case like this in a term delivery," she says.