It’s not unusual for a doctor to choose to induce labor in a mother using pictocin, a synthetic hormone.
There are several often very good reasons to induce labor. But recent research shows that it can also be very dangerous for the baby. In fact, if a medical team is the least bit inattentive while inducing labor, it can lead to serious birth trauma or a reduction of oxygen to the newborn resulting in brain damage and cerebral palsy.
Here’s what happens. The medical team administers pictocin (or Oxycotin) to stimulate contractions to encourage the spontaneous onset of labor with the goal of a safe vaginal delivery of the baby. However, too much stimulation can create a hyperstimulation of the mother’s uterus. The uterine muscles contract too frequently or don’t relax between contractions which can result in a decrease of oxygenated blood from the mother’s placenta to the baby.
Lack of oxygen is one of the most common causes of natal brain damage and cerebral palsy. This lack of oxygen will show up on the fetal heart monitor records.
If your baby has missed some of the standard developmental benchmarks and your doctor induced labor using pictocin or oxycotin, it is possible she suffered a birth trauma.
An experienced birth trauma attorney can help you determine what happened, then help find the financial resources you need for your child to have a good quality of life.
Cappolino Dodd Krebs, LLP, with offices in Austin, Texas, has worked for more than 25 years to help families find the resources they need to deal with cerebral palsy and other birth traumas.
