Was the umbilical cord wrapped around the neck of your baby during a vaginal delivery? Now you have learned that your baby has suffered a brain injury? In some cases, when the umbilical cord is wrapped around the baby’s neck, there are no issues. Sadly, however, this is not always the case.
One of the main purses of this Maryland birth injury educational article is to give you insight into some of the areas of analysis when a client contacts a medical malpractice attorney for help when something like this occurs. For many parents, the driving force is to get their child as much help as possible for the challenges he or she will face following a brain injury.
YOUR BABY HAS EXPERIENCED NUCHAL CORD
When a baby is born with the umbilical cord wrapped around the neck, this is called nuchal cord. The condition is more often seen in male babies. This is not to say girls cannot experience nuchal cord, it is just more frequent in boys.
The risk of nuchal cord increases during pregnancy when the umbilical cord is longer than usual in conjunction with an active baby. If the cord is wrapped around the neck twice, the baby is said to be dealing with double nuchal cord.
WAS THE UMBILICAL CORD WRAPPED AROUND THE NECK OF YOUR BABY?
As the question is stated above, was the umbilical cord wrapped around the neck of your baby and now you have been told that the baby has a brain injury? A nuchal cord can lead to a brain injury because the umbilical cord can become compressed. If the umbilical cord is compressed, there can be a decreased flow of blood and oxygen to the baby. Decreased blood and oxygen can cause fetal hypoxia, and a brain injury.
If doctors and nurses fail to notice and treat signs of umbilical cord compression (namely an emergency C-section when warranted), which lead to a brain injury in the child, an argument can be made that a deviation from the standard of care occurred. During labor and delivery, one way doctors can tell that cord compression is present is through a rapid drop in the baby’s heart rate, as reflected on the electronic fetal heart monitor.
ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR CHILD’S FUTURE CHALLENGES?
Was the umbilical cord wrapped around the neck of your baby and now you are concerned about the challenges your child will face in the future, because of a brain injury (subsequent cerebral palsy diagnosis)? If you would like to speak with me further, 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 Maryland birth injury and medical malpractice questions just like yours all the time and I will be happy to listen to your story.
Marcus B. Boston, Esq.
Boston Law Group, LLC
2 Wisconsin Circle, Suite 700
Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815
1-833-4 BABY HELP
