Was your baby’s brain injury caused by this condition? In some instances when mothers and families contact us, we are informed that the doctor mentioned a specific condition regarding their child’s brain injury. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. For some families, the cause of their child’s brain injury is not known until they speak with a birth injury attorney.
The purpose of this birth injury article is to help you understand how hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) can lead to a brain injury in a newborn. Sometimes doctors will not mention the condition, but it will be in the medical records. Remember, if your family is dealing with a situation like this there are professionals who can help.
HOW TO GET THE MEDICAL RECORDS…
Before discussing HIE, it is important to understand why the medical records from labor and delivery are so vital. When a birth injury attorney is analyzing cases like this, to help give families answers, they will start with the medical records. Sometimes we will have families contact us about not necessarily hiring an attorney, but trying to understand how to retrieve the medical records.
Each hospital may perform this service in a different way, but there will be similarities across the board. Usually you will have to make a request in writing to get the medical records. In a time of electronic records, you should request the records either by CD or disk or have them electronically delivered by PDF. Requesting the records like this can help cut down on the financial costs to you.
Before moving to the next section, I want to remind you that when you request the records be sure to request mother’s records and baby’s records. Sometimes the hospitals will give one or the other but not both. To be able to do a thorough analysis and investigation of what may have happened to your baby during this process, you need both sets of records. This is because the mother’s records may not have some of the same findings as the baby’s and vice versa.
WAS YOUR BABY’S BRAIN INJURY CAUSED BY THIS MEDICAL CONDITION?
What is hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy? The best way to understand this medical condition is that it is a reduced level of blood and oxygen which can lead to a brain injury. Doctors and nurses can monitor your baby’s well-being using a tool called the electronic fetal heart monitor. This monitor prints out a strip or reading, which can demonstrate to doctors and nurses how well a baby is tolerating a vaginal delivery.
The monitor will reveal readings of your baby’s heart rate, variability, decelerations and accelerations etc.… If the monitor displays that your baby is no longer tolerating the vaginal delivery, then doctors must properly diagnose this and perform certain treatments. The baby can run into serious trouble when it is in fetal distress and this condition is either missed or not treated properly. Conservative treatments may be used initially to help with fetal distress, but if these treatments are not effective then doctors must move to an emergency C-section when warranted.
Moving back to hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, it is easy to understand that if your baby is not being treated properly while suffering from a reduced level of blood and oxygen, a brain injury can occur. Therefore, it is so important that doctors pay close attention to how well a baby is doing during delivery. When doctors do not properly diagnose and treat fetal distress, the chances increase of a baby suffering a brain injury.
DON’T BE AFRAID, WE MAY BE ABLE TO HELP…
Was your baby’s brain injury caused by this condition? If you have more questions about your baby’s injury don’t be afraid to reach out and speak with us. We understand that many families have concerns about the challenges that their baby may face in the future. It is our position that if we can be of help, we will do our best to assist you and your family.
I can be reached at 301-850-4832. I speak with families like yours all the time regarding birth injuries and baby brain injuries and I would 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
