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Anoxic brain injury occurs when the brain is deprived of oxygen intake for any significant amount of time. The cells within the brain require oxygen to function; a lack of oxygen causes the brain cells to die.
Oxygen deprivation to the brain ( anoxic brain injury ) can occur in any situation where oxygen intake is compromised, for example, drowning or choking. A common cause of anoxic brain injury is deprivation of oxygen to an infant during the birth process.
Birth injuries can be caused by a variety of circumstances and conditions, some of which are beyond the control of medical care. However, there are birth injuries that are a direct result of substandard medical care, medical negligence, or medical malpractice. These are situations where the doctor, hospital or other care giver could have and should have prevented the damage or injury.
Traumatic birth injuries to the baby can be classified as either “mechanical” or”anoxic”. Mechanical injuries refer to damage to the child’s physical body as a result of birth trauma inflicted by manipulation, pushing, pulling, instruments, bruising, pressure, and other physical injuries. Anoxic injury refers to any situation which deprives the baby of oxygen to the brain. Decreased oxygen supply can be responsible for a wide variety of injuries, and may not be immediately apparent.
The most unfortunate thing about anoxic brain injuries to a baby during delivery is that, in almost all instances, the injury could have been prevented. The wonders of modern technology allow delivery room personnel (doctors, nurses, midwives, aides, etc.) to carefully monitor the infant’s heartbeat, which will immediately alert competent professionals to fetal distress. If the infant is quickly rescued, damage can almost always be avoided.
Anoxic brain injury is almost always due to negligence in one or more of these areas:
The fetal heart monitor lets caregivers know at any moment what the status of the baby’s health is. This makes oxygen deprivation and anoxic brain injury an almost always preventable tragedy. Substandard care comes into place when medical professionals fail to monitor the results of the monitor (called fetal strips); inaccurately read the results, or fail to notify appropriate personal in the event of a problem. The whole point of the fetal heart monitor is to be able to monitor any signs of fetal distress and to take swift and appropriate corrective action. Brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation is preventable with appropriate monitoring and medical care. Failure to do so is unforgivable and preventable negligence.
The heartbreaking – and usually preventable – results of fetal distress and oxygen deprivation to the baby’s brain include:
Often the consequences of oxygen deprivation to the fetal brain are devastating lifelong injuries and a lifetime of dependant care. A recently cited case example is the story of a 36-year-old mother whose pregnancy and delivery were normal until the mother developed a high fever 8 hours into her labor with a deceleration of the fetal heart rate that was not monitored by the attending medical personnel. The infant was born with no heart rate, blue, floppy, and apneic. Although resuscitated, within a few days she exhibited general seizures with tremors in the lower and upper extremities. An MRI revealed that the infant had severe hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. The child will remain fully dependent throughout her life and is not expected to develop beyond the level of a one month old infant.
This is a dramatic example of failure to closely watch and respond to deceleration indicated by the fetal heart monitor and the catastrophic consequences that can result.
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