Tag Archives: birth trauma attorneys
Dangers of Misdiagnosing an Ectopic Pregnancy
Roughly one in 40 pregnancies is ectopic, which means the egg is fertilized somewhere outside the womb, often in the fallopian tubes. Doctors usually terminate these pregnancies because they pose a significant health risk to the mother and because the fetus has a small chance of surviving. However, sometimes the methods doctors use to terminate an ectopic pregnancy can cause unintended consequences if they misdiagnose the mother’s condition. “Those fetuses that are misdiagnosed as ectopic and were actually in the uterus receive high doses of teratogenic drug during early stage of development, and that causes malformations,” said Dr. Yaron Finkelstein, a physician at Sick Kids Hospital. He was quoted in an ABC News story about a woman whose child suffered birth defects after doctors misdiagnosed her pregnancy as ectopic and administered a drug called methotrexate, which caused serious birth defects in an otherwise normal pregnancy. Studies Show High Rates, High…
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Posted in Birth Defects Tagged Birth Defects, birth trauma attorneys, ectopic pregnancies, ectopic pregnancy, methotrexate Comments Off on Dangers of Misdiagnosing an Ectopic Pregnancy
Severe Brain Injury for Newborn with Dislodged Feeding Tube
Summer Hawcroft was born prematurely to Steven and Michaela Hawcroft of Kendray in the UK on April 23, 2011. She died in her mother’s arms 49 days later. An ongoing lawsuit blames a mistake by doctors at the Barnsley District Hospital. When her breathing tube was disconnected, it deprived Summer of much needed oxygen while she was in the neo-natal unit. The lawsuit says this lack of oxygen caused a traumatic brain injury, which led to her early death. ‘A Combination of Factors’ Summer needed resuscitation after birth, according to pediatrician Dr. Ash Kale. She was placed in an incubator and fitted with a breathing tube. An independent doctor testified that another breathing tube would have been more appropriate, and Kale admitted that he’d received no training regarding incubation. When Summer started hyperventilating, medical staff adjusted the incubator settings. On May 4, the breathing tube “became displaced,” according to a…
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Posted in Brain Injury Tagged birth trauma attorneys, brain injury, hypoxic brain injury, traumatic brain injury Comments Off on Severe Brain Injury for Newborn with Dislodged Feeding Tube
Procedure Helps Physicians Spot Shoulder Dystocia Risks Early
Research published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology says that the PeriGen fetal surveillance is successful in predicting and preventing shoulder dystocia without increasing cesarean sections. Shoulder dystocia occurs when the baby’s shoulder becomes stuck during childbirth, potentially causing nerve damage and lifelong complications or disabilities, even death. Proper medical care can prevent shoulder dystocia in most cases, but recent testing suggests that the PeriGen program, already in place at several facilities, is an effective prevention method. Researchers studied two groups of births. In one, 8,767 women gave birth using the PeriGen system. The second group of 11,958 deliveries did not use the program. Rates of cesarean section births remained constant in both groups, but shoulder dystocia was 56.8 percent lower in the group that used the PeriGen system. “The results of the study show a clear path to reduction of this potentially catastrophic outcome and we are…
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Posted in Shoulder Dystocia Tagged birth trauma attorneys, perigen, Shoulder Dystocia, shoulder dystocia risk factors, shoulder dystocia risk factors for pregnant women Comments Off on Procedure Helps Physicians Spot Shoulder Dystocia Risks Early
