Georgia Fetal Distress Attorney

Negligence and Failure to Respond to Fetal Distress

Labor and delivery is an exciting time. But, even with modern technology, it's still a dangerous time, as well. Nurses and doctors have many medical devices that monitor a mother and child during labor. None of these are probably as important as the fetal monitoring strip. The fetal monitoring strip provides information about the child's heart rate. The fetal monitoring strip can immediately let a medical professional know if the fetus is distress and needs to be aided in its delivery.

Obstetricians need to make decisions that keep the child and mother safe and healthy during the delivery process. When doctors or other medical professionals fail in this duty, injuries can and do happen. Fetal injuries, such as brain damage from lack of oxygen, may be severe and last a lifetime. Fetal injuries can lead to huge medical bills and other costs of caring for your child. A fetal distress claim can help pay for many of these expenses.

Grant Law Office has guided many families through a successful settlement after their child suffers a serious birth injury. Contact our Atlanta birth injury attorneys today at (404) 995-3955.

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What is Fetal Distress?

Fetal distress legally refers to health problems that can happen before or during labor. Fetal distress can cause health complications for the mother, the infant, or both. On average, 42 out of every 1,000 births in America have some kind of fetal distress issues.

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Common Causes of Fetal Distress

There are literally millions of possible causes of fetal distress. Here are some of the most common causes we see in these claims:

• Failure by health care provider to provide appropriate treatment
• Failure by health care provider to evaluate a high-risk pregnancy
• Misuse of delivery apparatuses (like forceps)
• Misuse of epidurals
• Long labor
• Compressed umbilical cord
• Infant in breach position
• Feces in amniotic fluid
• Blood loss during delivery
• Lack of oxygen for the infant
• Uterine rupture
• Infant dislocated shoulder

Every pregnancy and every labor is different. Fetal distress issues can happen in even healthy, relatively "normal" pregnancies. The circumstances of your labor and delivery will influence the type and severity of your fetal distress issues.

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What Are Some Common Symptoms of Fetal Distress?

Fetal distress is a matter of observation and response. The fetal distress monitor will let doctors know that the fetus is having a difficult labor. Your doctor and their team is present to make well-informed decisions about the health and safety of the mother and child. Symptoms of fetal distress include:

• An increase/decrease in fetal heart rate
• Irregular fetal heart rate
• Meconium (the infant's first stool) in amniotic fluid
• Metabolic or lactic acidosis
• The mother feeling decreased movement of the fetus

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Common Fetal Distress Injuries

In situations where a mother and her fetus aren't properly monitored during labor, fetal distress can cause serious issues. If a fetus becomes distressed during labor, an emergency Cesarean section may need to be performed. Missing or catching fetal distress late can cause severe injuries, such as:

• Infant hypoxia (damage caused by lack of oxygen to the infant's brain)
• Cerebral palsy (a condition causing physical disability that inhibits body movement)
• Brain damage
• Organ failure
• Death

Most causes of fetal distress can be treated if medical professionals follow the standard of care, act fast, and act correctly. Any fetal distress issue that went unidentified or was treated too late can be a case of negligence. A medical malpractice case may hold negligent medical professionals accountable for these injuries.

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Contact an Experienced Atlanta Fetal Distress Lawyer

Grant Law Office has guided many families to a successful settlement through these difficult times. Call our Atlanta fetal distress lawyers today at (404) 995-3955.

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Additional Information

• Fetal Distress - Merck Manual
• What is Fetal Distress?