When the question is asked does a C-section prevent HIE one of the issues this question turns on is whether the C-section is timely. A delay in getting to the emergency C-section can be not only detrimental to the mother, but also to baby. Timely C-sections in general can help lower the chance of a baby suffering a traumatic brain injury like HIE.
For this educational article, and supporting video, I will go over how birth trauma attorneys assess HIE brain injuries in a baby when a C-section has been performed.
Does A C-section Prevent HIE?
As alluded to above, from a medical legal standpoint, when a baby has suffered an HIE brain injury and a C-section has been performed, the timeliness of the C-section has to be assessed. This is because even though a C-section has been performed, medical malpractice still might be the cause of the brain injury.
One of the best ways to understand this concept is with an example. Let us say that when mom shows up to the hospital there are no real issues with anything. She has had an uneventful pregnancy and stayed current in all of her medical appointments. When she is initially hooked up to the electronic fetal heart monitor the strips are reassuring.
With the above stated, let us say that halfway through labor and delivery things begin to change. Labor and delivery changes from reassuring to non-reassuring. This is because there are now prolonged late deceleration patterns and mom is having too many contractions. Additionally, there is minimal variability in the strip readings. All these things continue, despite conservative treatments like moving mom’s position, providing oxygen, etc… Eventually, as things continue to spiral out of control, an emergency C-section is ordered and performed.
Once the medical records, along with the fetal heart strips, are reviewed by another medical expert, they might opinion that even though an emergency C-section was performed, there was a delay in getting to the C-section. In other words, by continuing with the conservative treatments, well past the “safe time” to perform an emergency C-section, the doctors and nurses fell below the standard of care, causing the traumatic brain injury in the baby.
In conclusion, it is my hope that you can see why it is important to look at the actions leading up to the C-section to determine whether the procedure was indeed timely. A delay in an emergency C-section can lead a baby to suffer a traumatic brain injury like HIE when the baby is not tolerating the vaginal delivery for a considerable amount of time.
To speak with me further about questions surrounding your baby’s HIE brain injury, I invite you to reach out to me at my contact information below. It costs nothing to initially speak with me regarding your baby’s injury.
Marcus B. Boston, Esq.
9701 Apollo Dr. Suite 100
Largo, Maryland 20774
1-833-4 BABY HELP
