Did your baby’s brain injury occur during pregnancy, or during labor and delivery? This is a question that we get a lot when doctors hint at genetics and other causes of a baby’s brain injury. The truth of the matter is that a baby’s brain injury is not always caused because of something going wrong during pregnancy. Doctors and nurses failing to adhere to the standard of care can also lead to a baby’s brain injury.
The purpose of this birth injury educational article is to help you understand how a birth injury attorney like myself assesses these cases and help families find answers to did your baby’s brain injury occur during pregnancy, or during labor and delivery? At the conclusion of this article, you should have a better grasp regarding some of the critical issues present with these cases.
WHAT DO THE MEDICAL RECORDS REPORT?
One of the most important things that can be done in cases like this is to review the medical records. Birth injury attorneys use the medical records to fill in gaps that may be missing from the family’s history of events. In addition, the medical records can shed light on what was happening during labor and delivery.
For example, a birth injury attorney will be sure to review any scans that were done (if any were performed) when mom checked in to the delivery room. In addition, was meconium present when mom’s water broke? Meconium, which is the baby’s stool, coupled with other factors on the electronic fetal heart monitor, can reveal that a baby is no longer tolerating a vaginal delivery, and is in fetal distress. Failure to diagnose and treat fetal distress can lead to a brain injury in a baby.
Following delivery, birth injury attorneys will also want to know how the baby presented at delivery. Did the baby suffer seizures? Did the baby have poor APGAR scores? Was the baby blue in color? Was the NICU called? What was the cord gas readings? These questions, and many more, play an important role in the analysis of did your baby’s brain injury occur during pregnancy, or during labor and delivery?
DID YOUR BABY’S BRAIN INJURY OCCUR DURING PREGNANCY OR LABOR AND DELIVERY?
The above information, and the answers provided, is among some of the things needed to help a family find answers to when their baby’s brain injury occurred. In some instances, doctors and hospitals will attempt to shift the responsibility of the baby’s brain injury from their failures, to blame on the parents. As I mentioned at the start of this article, this is done in many ways, notably suggesting genetics, and suggesting the baby had a stroke or some other injury during pregnancy.
Reviewing the results of MR scans, and other types of brain and head scans soon after birth can help pin down when the injury may have occurred. For example, if a baby suffered some type of injury during pregnancy (an old injury), initial scans may reveal this injury. If the initial scans truly do not reveal an injury, but the injury manifests on scans days later, then a strong argument can be made that the injury may have been caused by the doctor and nurses, especially if other factors such as a bad fetal heart strip is present.
DO YOU NEED TO SPEAK WITH ME ABOUT YOUR BABY’S CEREBRAL PALSY DIAGNOSIS?
If your baby has suffered a brain injury at birth and you have questions as to whether the injury occurred during pregnancy or because of the doctors and nurses in the delivery room, this is what I invite you to do. Pick up the phone an give me a call. I talk with families who have baby’s who have suffered brain injuries all the time and I would be happy to take time out of my day and speak with you.
I can be reached at I can be reached at 301-850-4832.
Marcus B. Boston, Esq.
Boston Law Group, LLC
2 Wisconsin Circle, Suite 700
Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815
bostonlawllc.com
301-850-4832
1-833-4 BABY HELP
