The delivery room brings anticipation and hope. Parents expect to leave the hospital with a healthy bundle of joy. However, the process sometimes takes a frightening turn. Recognizing specific warning signs during labor empowers you to ask questions and demand answers from medical staff.
A birth injury differs from a birth defect. Injuries often result from physical pressure or oxygen deprivation during the birthing process. Doctors and nurses bear the responsibility to monitor both patients closely. When they fail to react to distress signals, the consequences change lives permanently.
Graves McLain Injury Lawyers supports families in Tulsa who face these unexpected challenges. We know that a birth injury diagnosis brings emotional pain and financial stress. Our team fights to hold negligent medical providers accountable for the harm they cause.
Our firm has secured millions in settlements and verdicts for families across Oklahoma. We work with medical professionals to analyze fetal monitor strips and delivery records. We aim to secure the funds necessary to provide your child with a lifetime of care.
Key takeaways:
Electronic fetal monitoring tracks the baby’s heart rate throughout labor. This technology provides the medical team with real-time data regarding the infant’s well-being. A deviation from the normal rhythm serves as the primary indicator of trouble. Nurses must interpret these strips correctly and alert the physician immediately.
A temporary drop in heart rate during a contraction is normal. However, late decelerations, drops that occur after the contraction peaks and persist after it ends, signal a problem.
This pattern often means the placenta provides insufficient oxygen (uteroplacental insufficiency). Medical staff must intervene with measures like changing the mother’s position or administering oxygen. If these measures fail, delivery must happen quickly.
Tachycardia refers to an abnormally fast heart rate (over 160 beats per minute), often caused by maternal infection (chorioamnionitis) or fever. Bradycardia is an abnormally slow rate (under 110 beats per minute), suggesting cord compression or heart failure.
Both conditions require immediate medical assessment. Prolonged periods of abnormal rates deplete the baby’s reserves and lead to metabolic acidosis.
A healthy heart rate fluctuates slightly beat-to-beat. This variability shows a healthy nervous system. A flat line with no variability indicates that the baby’s nervous system is depressed or asleep.
While sleep cycles are normal, a lack of fluctuation that persists often precedes severe injury. Doctors must act quickly to restore oxygen flow or deliver the baby before permanent damage occurs.
The mother’s body often provides clues that the delivery is not proceeding safely. Ignoring these symptoms puts both patients at risk. Nurses must monitor the mother’s vitals constantly and take patient complaints seriously.
A sudden, searing pain between contractions may indicate a uterine rupture. This catastrophic event occurs when the uterus tears open, often at the site of a previous C-section scar (VBAC delivery). The baby may spill into the abdominal cavity, losing oxygen instantly. This is a surgical emergency requiring immediate delivery and repair to save the mother’s life and the baby’s brain function.
Heavy bleeding often signals placental abruption. This happens when the placenta detaches from the uterine wall before delivery. The baby loses its oxygen supply, and the mother loses blood volume. An emergency C-section becomes necessary immediately. Medical staff must recognize the difference between normal “bloody show” and hemorrhage.
High blood pressure during labor suggests preeclampsia. If untreated, this leads to seizures (eclampsia). These seizures cut off oxygen to the baby and can cause strokes in the mother. Medical staff must manage blood pressure aggressively with medications like magnesium sulfate to prevent this outcome. Failure to treat severe hypertension is a common cause of preventable injury.
The condition of the newborn in the first few minutes of life reveals much about the delivery. Doctors use the APGAR score to evaluate the baby’s health at one and five minutes after birth. Low scores suggest the baby suffered stress during labor.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a low APGAR score may indicate that the baby requires immediate medical assistance to breathe or circulate blood.
Recognizing these signs allows parents to ask the right questions in the nursery. If your child exhibited these symptoms, you must preserve the medical records.
Doctors sometimes use instruments to assist in a difficult vaginal delivery. While these tools help in emergencies, they also carry significant risks. Improper use leads to physical trauma. The decision to use tools versus performing a C-section is a critical medical judgment.
Forceps look like large metal spoons. Doctors place them around the baby’s head to guide it through the birth canal. Applying too much pressure fractures the skull or damages facial nerves. We look for symmetry in the baby’s face to identify nerve damage. If one side of the face droops when the baby cries, the facial nerve may be crushed.
A vacuum extractor uses a suction cup on the baby’s scalp. If the doctor pulls too hard or the cup comes off, it can cause bleeding under the scalp. This condition, known as a subgaleal hemorrhage, may become life-threatening as blood accumulates outside the skull. Repeated pop-offs are a contraindication for continued use.
Sometimes the baby’s head emerges, but the shoulder gets stuck behind the mother’s pelvic bone. Doctors must use specific maneuvers (like the McRoberts maneuver) to free the shoulder. Pulling on the head causes brachial plexus injuries, damaging the nerves in the arm (Erb’s Palsy). Excessive traction is negligence.
Understanding the root cause of the injury helps determine if negligence played a part. Most birth injuries stem from two main mechanisms: oxygen deprivation or physical force.
We analyze the delivery timeline to see which mechanism caused the harm.
Identifying the specific cause allows us to build a strong legal argument. We connect the doctor’s actions directly to the child’s condition.
If your baby goes to the NICU, the records generated there become vital evidence. The NICU team documents the baby’s status independently of the delivery team. These notes often contain the first objective assessment of the injury.
Umbilical cord blood gases provide a snapshot of the baby’s oxygen levels at the moment of birth. A low pH level indicates significant metabolic acidosis, proving the baby suffered oxygen deprivation during labor. This objective data is hard for the defense to refute.
MRI and ultrasound scans taken in the first few days of life show the extent of brain injury. The pattern of damage often reveals when the injury occurred. A specific pattern correlates with acute near-total asphyxia (sudden loss of oxygen), while another suggests partial prolonged asphyxia.
Therapeutic hypothermia (cooling) is a treatment used for babies with HIE. If doctors order this treatment, it confirms they believe a brain injury occurred due to oxygen loss. The timing of this treatment is critical for its success.
A birth injury is not just a medical event; it is a lifetime diagnosis. The impact ripples through the child’s development and the family’s finances. Understanding the long-term prognosis is essential for calculating damages, which is why families often turn to a birth injury lawyer to evaluate future medical needs and financial recovery.
Injuries to the brain may not show full symptoms until the child misses developmental milestones. A child might be late to walk, talk, or feed themselves. We work with developmental pediatricians to project these future challenges.
Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a group of disorders affecting movement and muscle tone. It is the most common motor disability in childhood. CP requires lifetime therapy, mobility aids, and sometimes surgery. We calculate the cost of this care over a 70+ year life expectancy.
Oxygen deprivation can damage the parts of the brain responsible for learning and memory. This leads to intellectual disabilities that require special education and lifelong supervision. We seek funds to ensure the child has access to the best educational resources.
AI tools generate text based on patterns found on the internet. They lack the capacity to analyze the complex medical data in a fetal monitor strip or interpret Oklahoma’s specific medical malpractice statutes.
AI does not know the local standard of care in Tulsa hospitals. It cannot tell you if your doctor violated specific hospital protocols. You need a human advocate who knows how to hold local providers accountable.
You need a medical review. We hire independent doctors to review the labor and delivery records. If they see that the staff ignored distress signals or violated safety rules, the injury was likely preventable.
For children in Oklahoma, the statute of limitations is tolled, or paused. You generally have until the child turns 19 to file a claim. However, you should act much sooner to preserve evidence.
Not necessarily. A low score means the baby needs help. Malpractice occurs if the doctor failed to prevent the distress that caused the low score or failed to resuscitate the baby properly.
Yes, if the doctor used them negligently. Forceps use requires skill and caution. If the doctor applied excessive force or used them when a C-section was safer, you may have a claim.
You may seek compensation for past and future medical bills, therapy costs, and assistive devices. You may also seek damages for the child’s pain and suffering and lost earning potential.
A birth injury diagnosis changes your family’s future. Graves McLain Injury Lawyers provides the strength and knowledge you need to fight for your child. We handle the legal battle so you can focus on providing the best care possible.
We investigate the delivery, consult the specialists, and demand fair compensation.
Contact Graves McLain Injury Lawyers today at (918) 359-6600 for a free consultation regarding your birth injury claim.
When injury victims need a law firm with a reputation for excellence, turn to Graves McLain Injury Lawyers. We are a top-rated personal injury firm determined to be the best. With decades of award-winning representation, our clients recover the compensation they need to put their lives back together.
