The focus of this birth injury educational article is to explain how a misread fetal strip can cause a brain injury, or basically, how a misread fetal strip can cause a brain injury for a baby. There’s plenty of information on the web which talks about other causes of baby brain injuries at birth, such as maternal infection, and other genetic abnormalities. With that said, it can be taboo in some circles to shed light on the role negligence can play in the delivery room.
For some parents, knowledge of the electronic fetal heart monitor, and its importance is not really known until after the fact research. This article is a continuation of a parent’s research.
WHAT DOES THE ELECTRONIC FETAL HEART MONITOR DO?
The electronic fetal heart monitor is used by many hospitals in the United States. One of its main roles during labor and delivery is to monitor fetal well-being. It follows not only the baby’s heart rate, which should be around 120-160 beats per minute, but it also monitors the mother’s contractions. In addition to heart rate and contractions, the electronic fetal heart monitor allows the doctors and nurses to see acceleration and deceleration patterns, among other things.
These readings can be of paramount importance when nurses and doctors are reviewing how well a baby is tolerating a vaginal delivery. Even though the monitor is available, doctors and nurses can sometimes misread the feed when the baby is in fetal distress, thus potentially contributing to a brain injury.
HOW A MISREAD FETAL STRIP CAN CAUSE A BRAIN INJURY…
When a baby is in fetal distress, certain things begin to happen. The delivery process into the world is stressful. As a result, a baby has certain mechanisms to help deal with the stress. The thing is, the baby cannot go forever under stress.
Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a medical condition that can occur when a baby is in fetal distress. The condition in this context is a reduced level of blood and oxygen, leading to a brain injury in the baby. When nurses and doctors incorrectly interpret the monitor readings, this is how a misread fetal strip can cause a brain injury. A baby that is in fetal distress depends on doctors and nurses to assist when a vaginal delivery is no longer tolerated.
I CAN ANSWER YOUR BIRTH INJURY QUESTIONS…
If you have more questions about what happened during your labor and delivery, just pick up the phone and call me. In some cases, parents begin to remember their experience, and this is how questions start. Was your baby in fetal distress? Was your baby blue in color after delivery? Was meconium present when the water broke? Did your baby have to be moved to the NICU? All these things are important in a birth injury analysis.
I can be reached for further discussion at 301-850-4832. I talk with families all the time about birth trauma related injuries and I would be happy to listen to your story.
Marcus B. Boston, Esq.
2 Wisconsin Circle, Suite 700
Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815
1-833-4 BABY HELP
