Why Nurses Might Fail To Notify A Doctor That Baby Suffers From A Placental Abruption

By: J. Hernandez | Posted: 23rd February 2011

There are several types of mistakes medical staff make when faced with an expectant mother experiencing a placental abruption. The reason that an abruption of the placental is so dangerous for the unborn child is that is can greatly lessen the amount of oxygen getting to the baby. If an unborn child is exposed to a lengthy amount of time without an adequate supply of oxygen the child may end up with major brain damage or even pass away.
Perhaps it will help physicians and nurses to take steps to modify how they handle these cases in the future. The parents might also benefit from finding out whether what occurred was avoidable if the doctors and nurses involved had not made these types of mistakes.

To illustrate, think about instances in which the pregnant woman has had a prior placental abruption. A prior placental abruption increases the chances of another one developing in a subsequent pregnancy. Now think about the way things may go if the pregnant woman get all the way to being scheduled for delivery. This does not mean that there is no longer a danger of a placental abruption happening and that there is no longer any danger of a placental abruption. Actually, it is still possible for a placental abruption to happen. Among the issues that is seen in a number of situations is that the woman's obstetrician may not be personally monitoring the woman's condition. Often nurses are tasked with the responsibility of monitoring her progress. And this can result in issues if a placental abruption happens and the nurse fails to take appropriate action.

In particular, there are 2 likely types of mistakes that can lead to a failure to detect or to act upon a placental abruption. One type of error comes up when the nurse fails to recognize that a problem has come up and therefore does not call the physician on the change in the patient’s condition. It is not always apparent why this comes about but there are times when a nurse just appears to fail to realize the immediacy of the situation. Sometimes the nurse does not have enough training. Sometimes the nurse may become distracted. Whatever the reason, a physician is not notified of the developing situation and valuable time goes by with the unborn child in distress.

One more variety of mistake is one of proper communication. This type of mistake happens even though a nurse or other member of the medical staff actually figures out that there is a complication but still fail to inform a doctor. One reason this occasionally happens may be attributable to the hierarchical nature of the relationship among medical staff. Nurses sometimes defer to a doctor’s choices even in the presence of apparent signs that the situation needs immediate action. Yet, when a complication occurs it is the duty of the nurse to challenge the doctor in charge or find a different physician.

If your child sustained brain damage because of a delay on the part of a nurse or other health care provider in responding to fetal distress, you ought to discuss the matter with a medical malpractice attorney right away to figure out whether you ought to file a medical malpractice claim. As a consequence of the severity of the injury that may result to the baby this sort of mistake the settlement or award may be substantial so as to protect the child's future.

You can learn more about placental abruption and other types of birth injuries including group b streptococcus matters by visiting the websites
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Tags: amount of time, parents, instances, failure, physicians, immediacy, oxygen, adequate supply, pregnant woman, nurse, unborn child, medical staff, obstetrician, brain damage, doctors and nurses