Recognizing Fetal Distress

During labor, it is not uncommon for a baby to go into fetal distress. Fetal distress can be caused by a variety of factors during labor and delivery. Some of the causes of fetal distress are much more urgent than others. How a healthcare provider handles the fetal distress of the baby is a key factor as to what the outcome will be.

Fetal distress occurs when a baby’s oxygen supply via the placenta and umbilical cord is compromised or interrupted. This causes delays in the heart’s beating or inactivity. Babies who are doing well in utero, or pre-birth, have strong, stable heart rates even while in labor. They also show increased activity to appropriate stimuli. Babies in distress will respond in a variety of ways to the same stimuli.

When fetal distress is observed during pregnancy, the doctor will most likely consider inducing labor or scheduling a c-section, particularly if the situation appears to be ominous. Babies who are distressed for low amniotic fluid levels may stop growing correctly.

If fetal distress occurs during labor, the actions taken by the doctor depend on the situation everyone is in. When an induction was performed and the baby is having heart decelerations, the doctor should decide quickly if a c-section is necessary. Once the baby’s oxygen supply is compromised or interrupted, the baby must be delivered as soon as possible because the chances of a healthy baby decrease rapidly once oxygen is cut off.

When a doctor does not make the call to deliver a baby by emergency c-section quickly enough, the baby can endure irreversible brain damage due to the lack of oxygen.

Contact a Philadelphia Birth Injury Lawyer

If your baby was born with irreversible brain damage due to a doctor’s failure to recognize fetal distress during labor and perform an emergency c-section, contact the Philadelphia birth injury lawyer of Lowenthal & Abrams at 215-238-1130.