[MSUmama]

I have a question. One of the girls my dd goes to school with just had a tragic delivery resulting in the death of her infant. This girl is 16 and is kind of an outcast. She has a wonderful dad, though he's a pretty simple guy and I don't think anyone else is advocating for her. My dd and I just returned from the funeral and her mom wasn't there, nor were any of her friends, not that I know that she has any. She's a sweetheart though. Her bf was with her, as was much of his family.

She was due June 25. Last Sunday she started having horrible back pain. The OB called in Tylenol 3. She took the doage, fell asleep and woke up having horrible "stomach" pains. This was about 7 at night. She called her doctor. He is the only OB who delivers at the hosptial she was delivering at. He told her he couldn't see her that night and to call if she was still having pain in the morning. She apparently didn't realize she was in labor but she described it to me as the worst pain she's ever felt. It went on all night. She said she couldn't eat, couldn't pee and then her water burst. She got up to call for her dad or her boyfriend and in her words, the baby fell out and was hanging by the umbilical cord. They called 911, the baby was breathing then but didn't make it to the hospital. The OB has told her that even if she came in, there was nothing they could do. Also, he told her that her uterus is oversized and if she has aother baby, she'll have to be on bedrest for the duration of the pregnancy. She'd had an ultra sound just a few weeks ago, and she'd just been in for a prenantal appointment. If her uterus was so large, and she's a skinny girl who had a tiny bump, why didn't he detect it?

I have suggested to her father he seek legal advice for her. I'd like to hear some professional opinions before I mention it to him again. She's devestated, of course. I know this particular OB well, he delivered one of my kids and while he was good with me, I know from clients and friends that his bedside manner leaves a great deal to be desired. One client used to work on the floor, and said she saw him throw a phone at a nurse once and I honestly thought my husband was going to hit him at one point while I was laboring due to the way he was barking at the nurses. I know he does treat some patients terribly. He also pushes petocin. He tried that with me and I had to really fight him not to have it. He likes to keep bankers hours. Even local nursing students who do clinicals know that there are few overnight births in that hospital...

Anyway, thoughts please?

 

[cristeen]

My only thought is that if there was no autopsy, then he has no way of knowing whether or not there was anything they could have done. And if there was an autopsy, then he wouldn't be the one making that determination. With a HB death, I would be surprised if there wasn't an autopsy.

As for the doctor's "decree" about her uterus, that's something that she should be seeking a second opinion on.

 

[Jilian]

If she was due June 25 then how far along was she when she went into labor? I'm guessing about 32 weeks? If she was that far along then YES there is quite a bit that could have been done had she been taken seriously and brought into the hopsital to ive birth. First of all they could have tried to stop the labor with terbutaline, if that didn't work and they knew labor was coming they could have gotten in at least one lung injection to help the lungs mature and they likely would have started magnesium sulfate as a last resort to stall labor. They could have gotten her to a hospital with a full NICU and intubated the baby at birth if he/she had serious breathing difficulty. So for the OB to say that nothing could have been done, well that is not true. 32 weekers generally have good outcomes after a stay in the NICU.

I'm really sorry for this young mama's loss, how sad.

 

[Hey Mama!]

It sounds as if the ob was "punishing" her for being such a young mom. June 25 is not that far away so the baby was well past the point of viability. I'm so sad that the girl didn't have a single person to call when this was going on and get some proper help.

(I just noticed this was posted in Birth Professionals-I'm not one I just followed the link from the new posts.)

 

[ErinsJuneBug]

OMG thats awful! I'm due June 22nd - and I'm almost 31 weeks. If that baby was in a hospital it could have been saved. =(

 

[paquerette]

It sounds like possibly incompetent cervix? I think her baby could have been saved in a hospital. Maybe the OB was trying to CYA or maybe he was trying to say that the labor could not have been stopped. I would absolutely pursue legal options. I imagine he's hedging his bets that she won't. :cry

I had a coworker who was a teen mama 3x, with incompetent cervix, lots of bedrest and a cerclage. She has 3 lovely children.

 

[TzippityDoulah]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hey Mama! It sounds as if the ob was "punishing" her for being such a young mom. June 25 is not that far away so the baby was well past the point of viability. I'm so sad that the girl didn't have a single person to call when this was going on and get some proper help.

yeah... I mean obviously i wasn't there... but if this is really what happened I would have to agree. I've seen OB do this before. I also had one o it to me when I was 19! (even though I was married!) hm and the nurse clearly though I should suffer b/c of my age. they made that clear. I thought it was in my head (I was being oversensitive) until I saw it when I grew up and worked in L&D!! yikes.

That poor girl. my heart just goes out to her. NOBODY should ever ever ever be refused to be seen when they are in pain. and being diagnosed a strong medication like Tylenol 3 without being seen!? malpractice in my opinion! what if she had had a rupture? or appendicitis? or who knows what!?

 

[The4OfUs]

I am not a birth profesional but this story made my heart hurt so much I had to post. I am not a sue happy person, but I would absolutely support this young woman in pursuing some kind of legal action.

My main reason for the above is the fact that she wasn't seen, was prescribed a narcotic without being seen, and was given no instructions to follow up or go to ER if she got worse. That alone is negligent, without even getting into the question of viability.

 

[soxthecatrules]

This whole situation is so very sad.

Having been around many families w/preemies...I do know that there is on average a 95% survival rate for babies born at 32 weeks. As a pp said these babies usually do well w/a NICU stay. It would be interesting to know all of the facts of this situation. I'm generally not an OB basher but my instincts are not allowing me to like the one in this case so far.

 

[mtnhighmama]

If this just happened, then this girl would have been about 29-30 weeks, not 32. Still viable, of course.

What a horrible story.

 

[MsBlack]

I would follow up legally too. This is just awful. I thought you were going to say that it turned out to be an abruption, at first--whatever, I cannot imagine that it's standard practice to rx codeine (tylenol 3) in pregnancy without at least seeing the woman. So very sad for her!

I had a friend who nearly died years ago of an ectopic pg that ruptured her tube--same kind of thing, she presents at ER with bad stomach pain, gets pain relief and told to go home; calls later with increasing pain, told to come 'in the morning if not better'. Finally goes back to ER where imaging is finally done and they discover the rupture and her abdomen full of blood.

 

[MSUmama]

Thanks for the replies. I am not one to condone legal action in medical cases the majority of the time, which is why I posted.

The "punishing" her for being a teen mom, and being poor, had crossed my mind. Although, this OB sees lots of young, poor moms as he is one of only two docs in the county who take medicaid and the other one recently pled guilty to a possession of marajauna charge.

I thought there must be some way to stop labor, but I wasn't sure, which is why I asked. Also, we are about thirty miles, in either direction, away from two excellent children's hospitals with life flight capabilities. I thought there was a good chance that the baby could have survived with the proper care, but fortunately, I don't know many parents of premies so I wasn't sure.

As for her not calling and asking anyone but her OB, I don't know why she didn't call my dd or I. She knows that I work as a BF counselor, she's been to work with me. I am certainly not a birth professional but she could have called just for support if she thought she was just ill. She text dd as soon as the baby passed. It was early in the morning, and the only thing I can think is she didn't want to wake us. I just saw her a week ago today, and told her we'd get together this past week and talk so we could talk about l&d and breastfeeding. Her sister loves her very much and is very protective of her, but she just turned 14. Dad seems to be the same but he's a single parent of two teenage girls, he works full time and they are very "limited resource". I don't think she has anyone else. I really wish I had talked to her when I saw her last weekend but it was at her sister's birthday party and she was swimming and having a good time, I just thought it could wait.

Anyway, thanks for the replies. If nothing else, I am taking this as a lesson learned that there really is no time like the present for every important conversation.

 

[dewi]

It's not hard to pursue a malpractice lawsuit.
Medical malpractice lawyers do not ask for any money from the client unless they win the case, they will review the case, and only take it if they think they can win, if they a win a judgement they get paid a percentage. So it makes sense for her to speak to a lawyer.

It's common for young pregnant girls to be shunned by friends and neighbors, and they do get mistreated by OB's and hospital staff.

I too hope they had an autopsy.
It almost sounds like the baby strangled it's self when it was born.

What seems negligent is for a doctor not to check her to see if she is in labor, when she called to say "she has serve stomach pains" and she towards the end of her pregnancy, why didn't they have her go in to be checked.

They make older women crazy with over care and teens they commonly treat them with negligence.