fetal bradycardia

Hi, I was wondering if anyone had dificult deliveries and if they feel this contributed to the cp. I had a tough pregnancy, I bleed every week from week 9 to week 22. They said I was fine. There was lowlying placenta but they said it resolved. During the labour when I was being examined the nurse said she felt a large lump inside me but she didnt call for the doctor. Fetal bradycardia was noted from 17.00hrs until I delivered at 19.20hrs. It was only after delivery that it was discovered that I had bi-lobed vasa previa and there was a true knot in the cord(with some nuchal knots too). The vasa previa was never explained and it was only later that I found out how serious it was. I never found out what the fetel bradycardia was. Anyone know if these things could have contributed to how my son is now? Many thanks!

[carolyn4]

I also had a difficult delivery, and yes this did contributed to my daughter having cp. (she had to be resuscitated at birth) Any lack of oxygen can cause brain damage. Has your son have any MRI scans done, if so what did the doctor say?  It amazes me that he wasnt delivered for  more than 2 hours after they noted Fetal bradycardia, do they have a reason why you didnt go straight in for an emergeny c-section.?

[isthiscp]

Tanks for your reply! He had an mri done last june and it said" the peri-cerebral fluid spaces are prominent anterior with widening of the sylvian fissures. Non-specific widening of the sub-arachnoid space. Some white matter remains of high signal. The configuration may or may not suggest glutaric aciduria. Is there any clinical suspicion of mytochondrial or other metabolic disorder?" He was also resuscitated after birth and brought to the nicu. Funnily enough, they gave an apgar score of 8 at 8 even though he was practically black, didn't cry and was limp! As I said in the last post, the nurse felt the knot in the cord(even though she didnt even know what that was) but she didn't get the doctor to examine me. I still feel very angry about the birth. This was not our first child and I told them something was wrong very early on in the labour, I wonder why I didnt get the c-section either!

[crabby70]

my first daughter was emergency c-section...for my second the doctor said going vbac was better....needless to say it did not go well...i asked for a c-section and needed one my doctor refused..my daughter was born blue and and had to be resuscitated...my daughter has cp...it was very hard to accept what happened and why... i feel your angry...your unanswered questions... it is very fustrating..i got alot of answers from the therapist then the doctors sometimes....it is a long road ...but you will get through it...

[isthiscp]

Thanks for your reply. I think some of the anger comes from (well in my case anyway!) is if I had had of questioned harder the the situation during the labour, would there have been a different outcome? In fact, when I went into hospital at 09.00( I had been in labour at home since 03.00) they knew things were wrong from the start. The trace was very irregular and by 15.00 when the pain was becoming unbearable I asked for something for the pain. The said they counldnt give me anything because the baby was "somewhat distressed". As I said before, there was fetel bradycardia from 17.00 until 19.20 when I delivered him, having had NO pain relief at all and he was literally "yanked" out in seconds with a kiwi clamp. I think the attitude then and since by a lot of the medical profession has added to the frustration and guilt. I guess this is why there are sites like this one!!!!

[crabby70]

i was in labor for a long time... she was in distress...i was in pain.... i asked the doctor for a c-section....she said no to me...i knew something was wrong...my husband feels guilty...because he feels he should of insisted on a c-section...i think doctors don't  like to say to much when they know its doctors error...you can consult a lawyer for a medical malpractice case....i think talking about it and support is the best way...

[mommyofnathan]

Hi,

I agree that things seemed out of the ordinary during your delivery.  crabby70 suggested you consult a lawyer for a malpractice lawsuit.  And yes, for us it was and still is the right thing to do.  They are all human we know but when dealing with someones life, it makes it a bit different.
I have to warn you though, that this is not a road to take if you are faint hearted in any way. You will be pulled to shreds by the defence and it is up to you and your legal team to prove that another doctor under the same circumstances would have acted differently.  In other words, a reasonable person.  We can see as clear as daylight that something wasn't right, but we are not doctors and other doctors are reluctant to testify against their peers and if they acted reasonably within difficult circumstances and their peers feel that they would have done the same or similar, you might lose your case.
Apart from all the emotion and horrible things they will say to you and suggest to you in court, the fees are astronomical.  Remember, doctors are all insured against lawsuits and they certainly won't feel it in their pockets.  But for us, it is a different story.  
We still have to care for a special needs child and those special needs cost money and lots of it.
I am not trying to discourage you here, but I just wanted you to know that there is a very very tough road ahead if you decide on litigation.
We did it only for our son.  We needed to financially care for him but I'm telling you, if I had money and lots of it, I would never ever  follow this route again.  It is one thing to have to live your life this way and a totally other one to cope with the media, other doctors (obviously afraid you might sue them as well) the financial burden as well as the emotion that goes with it.
I think I vouch for all of us when I say that life is not fair and there should be justice if someone causes a chain of events that were preventable (like in medical malpractice), but it is a very tough road to take.  Weigh up the pros and cons first, even before you consult a law professional.

[crabby70]

it is a  very long hard road to take...my case settled out of court...but went on for many years.....I never had a problem with another doctor treating my daughter...they did not know about the malpractice suit....from things I hear you say...i get the feeling that you need to know what exactly happened in the delivery room...maybe you just to hear its not your fault and do the best you can....and thats all we all can do...

[isthiscp]

You were right... I just wanted to hear if I was the only one whom had difficulties and that it wasn't my fault, even though I dont think that will change the fact that I feel things might have been different if I had spoken up more during the delivery. In relation to medical malpractice, things work a little differently here! Our own consultant has said its cp but sent us to a neurologist who didn't commit to a diagnosis and sent him for more tests. By the time we get the results and see him again our son will be almost 2(which incidently is the time limit on the statuate of limitation to bring any case against anyone!). So we didnt even bother with they idea of litigation. It's just nice to know you're not the only one!!!!!!

[Ilovekeni]

I had a what i believed to be normal delivery. I went full term no problems during my pregnancy and my due date was scheduled for the 18th of October but instead my son decided to come 2 days early. I was in labor for 12 hrs my son had meconium as I was told by the nurse but with this being my 1st child i didn't know what to expect. I stated that maybe I should get a c-section but i never received one. come to find out later on toward my sons 1st birthday that he has stage 3+ meconium and i didn't know any of this until i nearly lost my son to the state. I was released from the hospital believing that i had this normal healthy baby because the doctors never made mention of anything being wrong with him but later his father and i discovered that he wasn't as normal as they portrayed him to be.my son is now 2 and he has dystonic cerebral palsy. I have been through 4 different law firms that all turned me down... I just don't understand how this isn't a lawsuit???