What Is An AGPAR Score?

Medical staff are responsible for carefully monitoring the unborn baby throughout labor and delivery. They must ensure the infant is getting enough oxygen and is not displaying signs of fetal distress. Common warning signs of fetal distress include changes in the baby’s heart rate or movement. Doctors often use electronic fetal monitoring (EFM) to ensure...

A new study has found that expectant mothers living close to hydraulic fracturing wells are more likely to experience high-risk pregnancies or deliver prematurely. Hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, involves drilling into the earth and pumping water, chemicals and sand to release the natural gas inside. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of...

A new study has found that cerebral palsy occurs mostly due to prenatal factors such as birth defects rather than birth asphyxia and other potential causes often thought to be responsible. The research was published in the September 3 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. Researchers from the National Institutes of Health and...

A Miami, Florida, woman was awarded $23 million in damages by a Charlotte County Circuit Court jury for medical malpractice that resulted in her premature daughter being born with severe brain damage and cerebral palsy. The mother visited her obstetrician in 2010 when she was pregnant with her first child. At 24 weeks of pregnancy,...

A jury rendered an award of $53 million to a 12-year-old boy who was born with a serious brain injury following 12 hours of fetal distress in the course of the delivery. The trial in the medical malpractice cased lasted one month, and was initiated in December 2013 by the boy’s guardian, who filed a...

New research indicates the drug erythropoietin may be effective in protecting babies from brain damage. Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) is a dangerous complication that can occur during delivery. Newborns suffer brain damage due to oxygen deprivation in the nervous system, which can cause debilitating birth injuries such as cerebral palsy and even death if left...

Legal Options if Your Child Suffered Birth Injuries in Homestead Related to Negligence The U.S. Census Department estimates that there are 1,344 women in Homestead, Fla., between the ages of 15 and 50 who gave birth in 2012. These are, of course, happy times for the families, though if a child suffered birth injuries the...

In June 2015, The Federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services launched an investigation into the unusually high mortality rate among infants who underwent open heart surgery between 2011 and 2013 at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. The investigation was triggered by a CNN report which stated that 12.5% of infant...

A resident of Florida has filed a birth defect lawsuit against Pfizer, the manufacturer of Zoloft, an antidepressant. The plaintiff alleges that the drug caused her daughter to have a birth defect. The plaintiff further claims that Pfizer neglected to sufficiently test Zoloft as well as failed to warn consumers and physicians of the potential...

Researchers have claimed doctors should not assume that a mother who has previously undergone a vaginal delivery is exempt from the risk of her subsequent babies sustaining brachial plexus birth injuries. A recent study analyzed all brachial plexus birth injuries that occurred between October 2003 and March 2013 at an academic medical institution. There were...

One potential risk of childbirth is prolonged labor, which occurs when the mother remains in labor beyond the standard period of time. This condition can carry a higher risk for birth injuries, and it’s vital that doctors monitor cases of prolonged labor and respond appropriately to minimize or avoid risk of injury. Prolonged Labor Overview...

A new study has found that expectant mothers with asthma may be at a greater risk of delivering prematurely if they are exposed to high levels of traffic-related air pollution just before conception and in early pregnancy. National Institutes of Health researchers noted both short-term and continuous exposure to carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides increased...

Birth injury is defined as damage to a newborn’s body function or structure that occurs due to an adverse event during labor. In the vast majority of births, the baby experiences no significant injury during labor; however, harm can and does occur in a small number of cases. In many cases, these injuries have lifelong...

Your legal options when your baby suffers birth injuries in Florida may include filing a medical malpractice lawsuit for the injuries depending on the circumstances of your case. You might be eligible for compensation if medical malpractice is to blame for your newborn’s birthing injuries. Examples of Medical Malpractice There are many things that can lead to...

When a mother hears that her newborn baby suffered a birth injury, she is often not prepared for this news and doesn’t know much about birth injuries. So, when a mother hears the terms Erb’s palsy and shoulder dystocia used after her baby is born, she needs to understand the connections between the two birth...

A birth injury can be devastating for the parents and have lifelong effects for the child. Many birth injuries lead to disabilities that require extensive care. In some cases, parents may wonder if a medical mistake was the cause of their child’s birth injury, but they are unsure how to proceed. Not every medical condition...

Parents of injured children often struggle with questions such as – Should I hire an attorney to pursue compensation in a birth injury claim? The answer depends on the extent and cause of the injury. An attorney can provide legal representation if a parent believes a doctor or hospital’s mistake caused a birth injury, such...

Some common birth injuries associated with C-sections include: Facial or body cuts Fractures Spinal cord injuries In addition to these common C-section birth injuries, other risks are present if the anesthesiologist did not administer the drug properly during a C-section delivery procedure. These potential injuries include low blood pressure, blood clots, and internal bleeding. There...