Modern medical interventions have made pregnancy and delivery safer for both mother and baby. There are incredible tools and tests available to health care professionals today to assist in the safe delivery of a baby. Unfortunately, all the science and tools in the world are useless if they are not properly used. For example, a doctor’s judgment is no better than the information the he or she is given. If a hospital nurse does not timely relay concerns from fetal heart monitoring or escalating blood pressure, the doctor cannot make good decisions to protect the baby or it’s mother. Many birth injuries could have been prevented if hospitals, doctors and nurses just properly understood and used the tools and wealth of information that is available from technology as well as the patient.
Here are some common examples of birth-related medical malpractice:
- Failing to monitor an infant’s oxygen saturation before, during, and after delivery.
- Delaying or failing to recommend a C-section in a difficult labor or at-risk delivery.
- Misuse of forceps or vacuum extractor in an assisted delivery.
- Administering the wrong drugs or wrong dosage of drugs.
- Failing to check basic vital signs.
- Failing to consult with physicians who handle high-risk deliveries.
- Failing to adequately control blood loss from the mother post-delivery.
- Failing to properly resuscitate a baby after delivery or monitor blood levels.