Was it doctor's fault?

Question

Ok, here is my story - two weeks before my due date I lost mucous plug in the afternoon and at midnight I started having contractions.. in early morning, they were 5 minutes apart, so I went to the hospital. They kept me on monitors for 8 hours, I was in such a pain, but wasn't dilating, so they said it was false labor and discharged me. As soon as I got home my water broke and the contractions got stronger. So I got back to the hospital in couple of hourse, but although i was having pretty strong contractions, it didn't make any changes on my cervix. So we waited another 10 hours before they decided to give me pitocin. It worked really slowly and my water became infected and turned green, also I got very high fever and my blood pressure dropped to 60/30, so I got in vitro antibiotics. I started pushing after 10 hours on pitocin, but the nurse wanted me to push with every other contraction and since they were 4 minutes apart {even with the pitocin}, it took forever. When the baby's

heartrate started dropping, she got scared and called the doctor. My son was born half hour after that, apgar score 0/5/7. He almost died, and my question is, do you think it could've gone differently?

I was in labor for 49 hours.

He is alive, but might be dissabled because of the lack of oxygen. I am having nightmares every since and can't got over this whole experience. I personally think they should've done a C section, but there was only one doctor at the time and he was busy.

BabyRN: I was ruptured for 28 hours and the baby got the infection, too, he was getting IV antibiotics, too. It might've been infection of placenta, I don't know. He is one month old, so it is too early to tell whether or not he is going to have problems in the future. It is still too fresh, that is why I am so full of it. He needed special care for two days before he started breathing on his own.

Americansneedtowakeup: I am so sorry about your twins, your experience is obviously much worse than mine. I can imagine it still hurts although it happened many years ago. I hate when doctors think they know better, but when you are pregnant for the fist time, you just have to trust them as you've never been through that before. Next time I will be listening to my body and want a better care.

Answer 1

I completely agree with you ... I think a C-section should have taken place. Furthermore, the nurse should have called the doctor as soon as there were signs of trouble.

Your story really makes me angry. Many years ago I was pregnant with twins and went into premature labor. The doctor told me they would not be viable. The doctor was also ending his shift, had already changed into his jogging suit and was not interested in hanging around - that was ~very~ clear. I was told to push and let them know when it started to come out. Can you believe that? I delivered the first baby outside of the delivery room and was told the first one was dead. A few minutes later I was rushed to the delivery room and the second was born. Then I was told they were both alive. They were taken a few hours later to an ICU. Two weeks later the first one died due to retinal failure as a result of head trauma (no delivery assistance in labor room). The second died due to premature lung development. It was criminal. The ONLY thing I grant them is that the technology then was not what it is today. I also blame myself because I was young and did not demand better treatment. But they were older and supposedly the experts. Believe it or not, the twins were born on Mother's Day. Sad memory ...

I absolutely despise frivolous lawsuits; however, in your case, I would seek out a really, really good, experienced attorney and ask for advice. Contrary to the advice given above, I would NOT give the medical facility any clue that you may consider suing. Speak to an attorney first. I accidentally left a confidential legal document at the hospital after having met with my attorney, and when the hospital found I had hired an attorney and we finally got a hold of the medical records, we discovered that data in the records had been scratched out and altered - in other words, forged. Obviously nobody wanted to lose their job or be sued for negligence so they lied. Yep. Believe it or not, they lied.

Answer 2

It's hard to say since I don't have access to your L&D records. But here is what I see in your post. You were at 38 weeks which is full term or close to it. You say you were in labor for 49 hours but we don't count it as labor unless there is cervical changes happening, some women, especially first time moms think the early contractions are labor pains but they can go on for days without any cervical thinning (effacement) or opening (dilation). You say your water broke, a few hours you went to the hospital and waited 10 additional hours before pitocin, then you pushed "forever". So I'm estimating you were ruptured over 18 hrs? At our hospital anyone ruptured over 18 hrs is at risk for infection and if the patient is full term and ruptured for over 24 hrs with failure to progress they are c-sectioned.

Then you say you got a very high fever, but got IV antibiotics. You say your water was "infected" and turned green? OK, amniotic fluid itself doesn't get infected exactly...but you CAN have chorioamnionitis which is an infection of both the membranes (placental tissues) and amniotic fluid. Most likely the green was meconium staining which is an indication of post dates (baby was late - not the case here) or stress/trauma to the baby during labor - probably the case. An APGAR score of 0/5/7 is very poor, did he need special care in the NICU? If not I'm surprised. He must have at least needed some oxygen with positive pressure ventilation for a few minutes and careful watching.

How old is your son now? It doesn't sound like a very good outcome and from what you've told me you may have a case. It's certainly worth pursuing especially if the baby has lasting damage. How old is the baby, does he show signs of impairment or disability? You have to decide whether you want the stress and strain of pursuing a lawsuit and stirring up trouble. Only you can decide whether this is something you need to do, either because you feel it is important or will bring you closure.

Either way, the first thing I would do is go to the hospital and ask for a copy of your medical chart and the baby's chart. Get your chart FIRST before you do anything else and review them carefully. Then later on you can call the hospital and ask to speak to the Manager of the L&D floor or better yet, the Director of Women's Services if they have one. Tell her you feel your case was mismanaged and your are considering hiring an attorney, bring your spouse for moral support and backup. This will get the attention of the bigwigs and you may be able to settle out of court. If nothing is resolved to your satisfaction and you are intent on litigation, then bring your records to an attorney who specializes in this kind of thing, or even better a legal nurse consultant. This is an RN who has legal training and is hired to consult on medical cases and review documentation. Generally they are hired by the hospital or doctor as consultants to review charts but it would be to your advantage to have one first to see if you have a case. She can review your records and pinpoint places where the RN or the doctor failed to act appropriately or displayed negligence in your care. If she thinks you have a case, she will tell you. Then you can find an attorney. Some info here:

http://www.findlnc.com/
http://www.legalnurses.com/USMap.html

Answer 3

It is possible that you got poor medical care for sure, but I think the biggest thing for you right now is to focus on your son and making sure that NOW you get the best medical care possible for him. You can't change what already happened, and focusing your energy on it will only be detrimental to your son at this stage. Once you feel good about the care he is receiving, then perhaps you should re-visit the entire labor/delivery scenario. Only you can decide if pursuing a law suit is right for you. I had a very bad experience during my first pregnancy, and I believe whole heartedly that my doctors were a bunch of morons. I ended up losing my baby, but pursuing a lawsuit was just not where I wanted to spend my time, energy and money. It wasn't going to bring my baby back. BUT It taught me a very valuable lesson, research, ask questions, and more research.

Answer 4

they should have given you pitocin much sooner. 10 hours is way too long to wait. when i was pregnant, my water leaked out very slowly, i didnt realize what it was i just thought i peed my pants a little, but i had a doc appt the day it happened so i thought i would be okay. i was not having any contractions whatsoever. so to make a long story short, my water leaked for a total of about 5 hours and when i got to the doctor she freaked out that i had waited that long. they put me on pitocin as soon as i got to the labor and delivery room in fear that i would get an infection as you did. my best advice to you (ONLY if your son is alive and okay) is to complain to the hospital about that doctor, it needs to be brought to someones attention. if your son is having health issues or passed away i would sue the crap out of the hospital.

Answer 5

49 hours...wow....that sounds like way too long. I was told by my doctor that they do not want you to be in labor for more than 36 hours. Unfortunately, I do not know, nor do I think many other people on here would know if they are at fault. What I would do is get a second opinion from another doctor on what happened. I hope everything is ok with your son now. That is scary and I am sorry it happened to you. Good luck.

Answer 6

I know that if your water broke and wasnt making much progress they should of given you antibiotics sooner. Usually when the doctors have to use piocin they increase it slowly to speed it up. So I wonder if they did that. I had to be induced because of blood pressure problems, but I was pushing him out in only 4 hrs. I'm sorry that had to happen, I am a mother too and I know how hard that was for you. Hope you and your son well.

Answer 7

I have read that after water breaks the baby should be delivered - in whatever way possible - within 24 hours to avoid infection and other complications. I am surprised they let you go so long! It doesn't seem responsible at all. When my water broke (and it just dripped, not gushed) and my son was delivered in about 12 hours.

Answer 8

It sounds to me like you were left too long. I would look into what steps you could take legally. In my experience some doctors resort to using intervention too quickly and yet others are far to sceptical of the need for it. I truly hope your child is okay and has suffered no long term damage.

Answer 9

god some doctors are dumb i was having contraction for 2 days and he said that you can't have contraction for 2 days but it should have gone differently if you know there names you could properly get them into lost of trouble you should have had a c-section

Answer 10

I am really sorry for what you went through. My doctor would have done a c-section in your situation.