Negligent Fetal Monitoring Lawyers

The fetal monitor is attached to the mother during labor and delivery to monitor the health and well being of the baby. It records both the baby’s heart rate and the mothers heart rate, and allows a provider to see when contractions are occurring. In cases of obstetrical negligence, the defendant obstetrician often tries to argue that the very tool they recommended and use on a regular basis is not a reliable indicator of the baby’s well being. This argument has been rejected by courts across the country.

During labor, your healthcare practitioner and nurse will be checking your baby’s heart rate to keep tabs on how she’s doing and see how he’s tolerating your contractions. This is called fetal monitoring. This can be done with an electronic fetal monitor or a handheld Doppler device like the one your caregiver used to listen to your baby during your prenatal visits. Electronic fetal monitoring is a procedure in which instruments are used to continuously record the heartbeat of the fetus and the contractions of the mother’s uterus during labor. Your baby’s heart rate can be checked continuously with an electronic fetal monitor or periodically (this is called intermittent auscultation). Most women who give birth in U.S. hospitals are hooked up to an electronic fetal monitor more or less continuously throughout labor.

Continuous electronic fetal heart rate monitoring can help detect changes in the normal heart rate pattern during labor. If certain changes are detected, the obstetrician can treat the underlying problem. Fetal heart rate monitoring also can help prevent treatments that are not needed. A normal fetal heart rate can reassure both you and your health care provider that it is safe to continue labor if no other problems are present.