How Fetal Monitoring Errors Can Lead to Birth Injuries

Birth injuries are tragic events that can directly affect your child’s future. Every instance of birth injury is specific to the involved events, but a common cause is errors in fetal monitoring. If your child has suffered a birth injury, you are not alone, as an experienced medical malpractice attorney at Mette Law is on your side and welcomes the opportunity to help.

Time Is of the Essence during Delivery

During labor and delivery, fetal heart rate monitoring is one of the most effective and important medical tools. This allows the delivery team to track the baby’s heart rate and receive real-time feedback on the baby’s condition.

Any concerning shift in the baby’s condition, such as a change in heart-rate patterns or fetal distress, must be assessed and addressed promptly. In other words, any lost time increases the risk that the child will suffer a birth injury.

Issues like the following in relation to fetal monitoring can lead to devastating health concerns:

• Misinterpreting the feedback
• Ignoring the feedback
• Misreading the feedback
• Overlooking the feedback
• Failing to order appropriate fetal monitoring or to maintain it adequately

This form of error extends to delaying surgical intervention when the feedback from fetal monitoring indicates its need. Staffing shortages can be a contributing factor or the direct cause of fetal monitoring errors. The same is true of unqualified staff members who are allowed to handle this critical component of labor and delivery.

Birth Injuries Associated with Fetal Monitoring Errors

There are specific birth injuries that are often linked to fetal monitoring errors.

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a constellation of neurological and physical conditions that affect coordination and movement. Lack of oxygen during delivery is a fetal monitoring error that can cause CP.

Periventricular Leukomalacia

Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) is a form of brain injury characterized by damage to the white matter surrounding the brain’s ventricles. It occurs when oxygen or blood flow to those areas is disrupted, often during or shortly after delivery. When fetal monitoring fails to detect signs of distress in time to prompt intervention, the resulting oxygen deprivation can trigger the kind of white matter damage associated with PVL.

Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a very serious brain injury that is the result of a reduction in the flow of oxygen or blood to the brain. This can happen before, during, or shortly after the birth process. Symptoms include floppiness, poor reflexes, and breathing concerns.

If your child suffers a birth injury as a result of a fetal monitoring error, filing a successful claim is a complicated legal matter. Don’t proceed before consulting with a reputable medical malpractice lawyer.

An Experienced Harrisburg Medical Malpractice Lawyer Is Standing By to Help

Our diligent Harrisburg medical malpractice attorneys at Mette Law are well-equipped to build a solid claim in pursuit of the compensation to which you’re entitled, and that is necessary to address your child’s injury-related needs. A birth injury can be life-altering, so please don’t put off reaching out for more information by contacting us online or giving our firm a call at 717-232-5000 today.