My baby is diagnosed with HIE, did medical malpractice cause this? When parents are told about this medical condition they are usually confused at first, at least in my experience talking with parents, a lot of the confusion comes from the fact that many people have not heard of this term.
HIE is short for Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy. The medical condition essentially deals with a reduced level of blood and oxygen in the baby which can lead to a brain injury. When a child is diagnosed with HIE parents will generally have a lot of questions, with one of the main questions dealing with whether medical malpractice is the cause of the child’s HIE diagnosis.
MY BABY IS DIAGNOSED WITH HIE
After a parent tells me that my baby is diagnosed with HIE, the next question is usually did medical malpractice cause my baby to be this way? To be able to answer that question, a full review of facts and medical records must ensue.
One of the common fact patterns we see and read about is where the mother has a pretty normal pregnancy. Mom takes the time to follow up with all of her doctors and keep current with any and all medical orders.
The day mom checks into the hospital, the doctors do a sonogram and everything will in some instances look fine. However, as time goes on through the delivery, problems will arise which demand that the doctors and nurses take emergency action for the wellbeing of the baby and mom.
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FETAL HEART MONITOR
The fetal heart monitor is a device that helps the doctors to, among other things, determine how well a baby is tolerating a vaginal delivery. One key area of analysis with the fetal heart monitor is the baby’s heart rate. On average a normal heart rate for a baby in this situation is between 120-160 beats per minute.
As a baby’s heart rate climbs above 160 bpm and below 120 bpm for a considerable amount of time, problems can occur. Not only is the heart rate important, things such as early vs late decelerations are important. The variability in the strip is also very important.
DID MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CAUSE MY BABY’S HIE DIAGNOSIS?
When a parent says my baby is diagnosed with HIE, did medical malpractice cause this, one of the areas of serious review will be the fetal heart strips. If flags are present in the strips, and flags are ignored, the baby can suffer a life-altering brain injury. HIE can be the result because essentially the baby has gotten an insufficient amount of blood and oxygen during the delivery.
Doctors and nurses have to move towards an emergency C-section when the child is no longer tolerating a vaginal delivery. Again, this is because the baby can suffer a serious brain injury if left to use up all of the baby’s fetal reserves.
DID YOUR BABY DEAL WITH HYPOXIC ISCHEMIC ENCEPHALOPATHY AND NOW HAS A CEREBRAL PALSY DIAGNOSIS?
Cerebral Palsy is a physical impairment. It is marked by spastic movements of the arms and/or legs. It is a result of a brain injury or brain malformation. The brain can be injured by: bleeding in the brain; lack of blood flow to the brain; lack of oxygen to the brain; and traumatic injury at birth; among some of the causes.
WHEN YOU HAVE MORE QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR BABY’S BRAIN INJURY CALL ME…
To speak with me further about your baby’s brain injury at birth this is what I invite you to do. Pick up the phone and give me a call. I can be reached at 301-850-4832.
I answer birth injury questions like yours all of the time and I would be happy to listen to your story.
Boston Law Group, LLC
2 Wisconsin Circle, Suite 700
Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815
