Emedinews:Insights on Medicolegal issues:Giving birth is one of the most precious and exciting experiences of doctor

JAMA states that 7,000 medication errors are made every year when a baby is injured because of the error of judgment of a doctor or nurse during the pregnancy, during the labor, or during delivery the consequences are usually devastating. Birth injuries often result in cerebral palsy and mental impairments, conditions that place tremendous financial and emotional burdens on the entire family. Several medical reasons can lead to birth injuries, which include:

• Failure to diagnose and treat preeclampsia
• Inadequate pre-natal care
• Failure to diagnose and treat pregnancy induced diabetes
• Failure to conduct adequate fetal wellbeing assessments
• Failure to continuous monitor vital signs during labor
• Failure to diagnose fetal distress during labor
• Failure to timely perform a cesarean section
• Failure to treat umbilical cord compression during delivery
• Failure to adequately resuscitate a depressed baby
• Shoulder dystocia causing Erb's Palsy
• Improper use of forceps
• Improper use of vacuum extractor
• Birth injuries that prove fatal are some of the most serious and common dissatisfaction of patient.
• Wrongful death birth injuries typically arise because a poor decision is made or a detail is missed in the chaos of delivery means lack in attention to the baby heart monitor, tangled umbilical cord, hypoxia leading to brain death, and anesthesia or surgical errors in the act of giving birth

(Contributed by Dr Sudhir Gupta)