Medical Malpractice and Childbirth Complications

The birth of a baby into a family brings immeasurable joy to everyone. It is a happy moment because a newborn has been added to a family.

However, sometimes things fail to go as expected during pregnancy or in the process of childbirth. Birth injuries and other complications can dilute the joy a newborn brings. A case of medical malpractice may be filed against health care professionals if such injuries are considered preventable.

Responsibility of Medical Personnel

Hospitals have policies and procedures to make sure they have necessary medical personnel on ground to ensure a safe delivery. These medical professionals have the responsibility to work to save the mother and child from injuries or complications. Failure in this regard gives room for medical malpractice against the hospitals and/or their medical personnel.

Ensuring Safe Delivery Through Obstetrical Nurses

Established hospitals usually have perinatal or obstetrical nurses, whose main duty it is to take care of a pregnant mother during labor and delivery. They have a duty towards the unborn baby as well. Missouri medical malpractice lawyers inform us that obstetrical nurses monitor the progression of labor in order to ensure that all is well with both the mother and her unborn child. Visual observation, blood tests, and even fetal monitoring are ways by which they carry out this duty.

It is important to ensure that the heart rate of a baby is regular during labor contractions so as to avoid any complications. The non-invasive method for achieving this is called fetal monitoring. Contractions during labor may deprive a baby of necessary oxygen it needs to live, as both the baby and umbilical cord are compressed during the process. Fetal monitoring can, therefore, help obstetricians and obstetrical nurses to decide if another technique of delivery should be used when intense contractions are noticed.

Importance of Getting Fetal Monitoring Right

Fetal monitors are great additions to delivery rooms. And provided their results are taken and used for decision making, they serve very useful purposes during labor. Failed fetal monitoring occurred in a Missouri hospital, involving a first-time mother. Medical staff failed to work with readings of a fetal monitor showing there was a problem with the woman’s baby. Labor was induced by the hospital after the woman’s 40th week of pregnancy, leading to the birth of a baby with severe mental problems. The parents of the child filed a lawsuit, which was settled for $4.75 million, indicting the obstetrical nurse that had ignored the readings.

Oxygen is vital to an unborn child and lack of it during delivery can lead to serious complications. You could seek for compensation with the assistance of an experienced and competent Missouri medical malpractice lawyer, if your child has suffered a preventable birth defect. Consult with Zevan and Davidson Law Firm at (314) 588-7200 for a free consultation.

Photo credit: Lindsey Turner via Flickr