A newborn in Ireland died a week after his birth due to a brain injury caused by forceps used in the delivery process. Claire McGovern, the baby’s mother, arrived at the National Maternity Hospital with painful contractions. She was almost 40 weeks pregnant, and doctors attempted to assist a natural birth with forceps. When the birth failed to progress, nurses took the mother upstairs to undergo a Caesarean section.
Sadly, baby Daniel McGovern suffered a non-depressed fracture of the skull and a subgaleal hemorrhage of the brain, and he died a week later. Dr. Declan Keane, an obstetrician at the hospital, reported that he had “no doubt the fracture was most probably due to forceps.” He also commented that the entire delivery process would be improved if the delivery rooms were on the same floor as the operating rooms. The hospital applied for funding to remedy this problem previously, but their central location limits their efforts.
Subgaleal hemorrhages are fatal and difficult to recognize in newborns. If your baby has been diagnosed with this condition or a similar brain injury, and you believe their birth trauma is the result of a medical mistake, you should contact a birth trauma attorney at Cappolino Dodd Krebs, LLP today.
