There are many routine tests and

Birth Injuries & Cerebral Palsy

There are many routine tests and procedures that should be performed by competent medical providers during pregnancy to evaluate both the health and progress of your baby. These include a pelvic exam, calculation of the gestational age of the baby, measurement of your weight and blood pressure, tests of a sample of your urine to look for protein and sugar in the urine, measurement of the height of the fundus (top of your uterus), determination of the size and position of the baby, test of a sample of your urine to look for bacteria in the urine, blood tests to check for anemia, blood tests to check for diabetes when you are 28 weeks pregnant, blood tests for blood type and Rh antibodies, blood test to check for syphilis, cultures of cells from your cervix to test for infection, blood test for hepatitis, examination of your ankles and lower legs for swelling, an alpha-fetoprotein blood test to screen for certain birth defects and sometimes a triple test, which provides more accurate screening for birth defects by including tests for human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) and unconjugated estradiol (UE) with the test for alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), ultrasound scans to look at the baby and your uterus, and a nonstress tests to check the health of the baby by the heart rate when the baby moves.

Women with high risk factors may have additional tests and procedures, such as chorionic villus sampling (CVS) from the placenta and amniocentesis for information about your baby's chromosomes and detection of some birth defects, repeated Rh antibody screening at 28 to 30 weeks with a shot of Rho(D) immune globulin if you are Rh negative, blood tests for clotting studies or liver function, nonstress tests once or twice a week, biophysical profile and stress tests to check the baby's health by the heart rate during uterine contractions.

If the prenatal care and delivery are not handled properly, a number of life long injuries and/or disabilities can occur to the mother and child. One of the most devastating injuries to a child can be the development of cerebral palsy (CP) and/or hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), which are terms used to describe disorders that occur when a baby's brain has been damaged before or during birth. CP is usually caused by the lack of sufficient oxygen to the baby's brain during the pregnancy, and HIE is usually caused by the lack of sufficient oxygen to the baby's brain during labor and delivery that is difficult or traumatic. The monitoring of the baby's heart rate and response to contractions during labor are watched carefully for signs of the abnormal responses that indicate "fetal distress" caused by lack of oxygen.

Today's prenatal testing with blood testing, ultrasound and chromosomal analysis allows for the identification of a number of birth defects and abnormal fetal conditions. Such information may be important to parents who may not want to carry an abnormal pregnancy to term or to a fetus who may require prenatal treatment to avoid more significant injury during development. Congenital conditions such as Down's syndrome, anencephaly, hydrocephaly, holoprosencephaly and spina bifida can be identified prior to birth so as to allow a mother a choice regarding the pregnancy. Other abnormal conditions, such as placenta previa, placental abruption, intrauterine growth retardation and macrosomia, need to be identified so that they can be managed to lessen the risk of injury to the child.

If you feel that the prenatal testing, care and/or delivery of your child was not handled properly, please search our database of medical malpractice attorneys to identify one in your area who can help you assess the care you and your baby received by clicking on the gold map to the left.