The bottom line is that when you go to a hospital to deliver your baby, or to a doctor’s office for a checkup during your pregnancy, the key thing you want the physician to monitor for is fetal distress. Fetal distress is used to describe what happens when your baby’s oxygen supply is compromised in utero either during pregnancy or during labor. Distress to the fetus may be caused by a mother’s illness or injury, placental abruption, umbilical cord compression, fetal infection, or other reasons. But, the key reason you have a physician following a pregnancy is to check for conditions like: hydramnios or oligohydramnios, preeclampsia or eclampsia, gestational diabetes, or a multiple pregnancy. If the baby does not have a strong and stable heartbeat, or the baby does not respond to poking and prodding in utero, then the doctor may need to run tests to determine the cause, and take action to relieve the distress if necessary. Sometimes this may mean an immediate delivery (by C-section, unless a vaginal birth is imminent).
If your child was injured in birth after exhibiting signs of fetal distress, or when no monitoring was undertaken, or signs of distress during monitoring were ignored, then you may have grounds to bring a medical malpractice lawsuit. The type of birth injuries most associated with fetal distress include: Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy, cerebral palsy, stillbirth, bone fracture, brain damage, and organ damage. When in doubt consult an attorney. Call our office today and speak with an Indiana fetal distress lawyer.