by Melissa Strong

Created on: December 20, 2008   Last Updated: December 31, 2008

You have had a traumatic childbirth experience. You, or your partner if not you, or your child has experienced the affects of oxygen deprivation, known as asphyxia in medical terminology, leading to damage or worse. You are wondering how it could happen and what you can do now that it has. You will find information here to help you determine if your case was a fluke of nature or if you should take legal action. You will also find information on where to find that legal help when necessary.

How It Happens

Women who may experience this condition can suffer from patterns in heart rate or breathing. Her contractions may have become ineffective or nonexistent. Common fixes to these problems are medications and procedures used to hasten the delivery, including but not limited to breaking the bag of waters and medications such as Cytotec or Pitocin. Parents and other family members unknowingly agree to these interventions, which can actually compound the situation or cause the condition in the baby. Some instances occur where the mother will not experience any of these symptoms until after administration of medications.

Often detected through continuous fetal monitoring, any change detected in the baby's heart rate is cause for concern when sustained for any length of time or during pattern development. The medical care provider assisting the mother can handle these changes, called "fetal distress," in various ways. Causes of the changes can range anywhere from cord incidents, placental abruptions, or medications and procedures given to the mother. This often leads to vacuum extractions, forceps use, and emergency cesarean sections. These procedures may or may not always help.

What You Can Do

The first thing you should do is obtain the medical records, including test results, progress notes, for the affected patient. When going over these documents you will want to note certain items, which differ depending on the patient. For the mother, you will want to note how far dilated she was, how far apart her contractions were, how strong they were, any medications given, and vital signs, especially related to the given medications. For the baby, you will want to get the print out of the fetal heart rate and any notes recorded of the baby's condition during and after birth. Be sure to include the condition of the umbilical cord and placenta, the 1-minute and 5-minute apgar scores, and any special procedures done in the event the baby needed to special suctioning and attempts

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