Residents and nurses are often put in charge of monitoring an expectant mother for part, or sometimes most, of labor prior to the delivery of a baby. The expectation is that the nurses and residents who are tasked with performing this very important role have the knowledge and experience to recognize the signs of a complication during the labor process and to either take immediate action to rectify the situation or notifying a doctor with the ability to deal with the situation. Unfortunately this is not always what happens. Consider, for example, the following documented case.
This case involves a 28 year old woman expecting the birth of her first child. She was nearly at 41 weeks in the pregnancy when she experienced spontaneous labor and was transported to the hospital. Once at the hospital a fetal heart rate monitor was attached. For the next 10 1/2 hours the patterns shown on the fetal heart rate monitor appeared normal but then the patterns changed. The change was a sign that the unborn child was in fetal distress.
In approximately one hour and 40 minutes after the change in pattern the mother's membranes ruptured. As the amniotic fluid came out meconium was clearly visible. This was the second sign that the unborn child was in fetal distress.
As another fifteen minutes passed the woman's cervix became only slightly more dilated. Thirty more minutes passed and at this point the baby's heart rate changed dramatically. Yet there was no attempt made to use additional equipment for a more precise check on the baby's heart rate. The staff also failed to test the baby's scalp pH as a way to gauge the baby's condition. And the staff, which included two nurse midwives, a staff nurse, and a resident, did not call the obstetrician in charge. It took more than two additional hours for the women's cervix to be finally fully dilated. At that point she was instructed to begin pushing.
The baby was delivered almost one and a half hours after that point and throughout that length of time the fetal heart rate monitor signal would periodically be lost leading to the virtual impossibility of properly determining the baby's condition. Again, however, no steps were taken by the staff to confirm the baby's status. And the staff failed to call the obstetrician in charge until mere moments prior to the birth of the baby. At birth the baby's Apgar scores, a measure of the baby's well-being, were very low. Testing of the pH of the baby's umbilical cord showed a high level of acidity. At this point a consultation was requested from the attending emergency room pediatrician who was able to examine the baby roughly seven minutes after his birth. The baby demonstrated no reflexes and experienced seizures shortly thereafter.
Testing later revealed that he had experienced a hypoxic brain injury due to the lack of sufficient oxygen prior to birth. He was unable to hear, could not see, and could not react on his own. He died less than two years later from complications of his condition. The law firm that represented the parents filed claims on their behalf against the two nurse midwives, the staff nurse, and the resident for the failure to react to the signs of fetal distress leading to a prolonged period with a lack of necessary oxygen resulting in the baby's injuries and eventual death. The law firm reported that a settlement was reached in the case on behalf of the parents for the sum of $2.0 million.
As this case demonstrates sometimes nurses and residents do not have sufficient experience to recognize and react to serious complications that may develop during labor. When this happens the resulting injury to the baby may be catastrophic. In such cases the parents may be able to succeed with a medical malpractice claim against the responsible medical staff. An experienced birth injury attorney can assist the family in determining whether they may have a claim.
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