Newborn Baby Suffered Brain Damage After Midwife Failed To Notice Distress During Birth

The death of a newborn baby in New Zealand due to the lack of oxygen has been blamed on the negligence of the midwife in charge.

The incident took place when a woman in her 20s went into spontaneous labor at about 38 weeks in 2020.

A decision by the Health and Disability Commissioner noted the incident could have been prevented had the midwife recognized and acted on signs of the baby's distress.

In a report released Monday, deputy Health and Disability Commissioner (HDC) Rose Wall said the midwife didn't ask for help from other medical practitioners.

"The midwife's failure to identify fetal compromise and her not seeking specialist input at various points meant the opportunity to respond to these issues in a timely manner was missed... Sadly these failures appear to have resulted in the baby's hypoxic condition at birth," Wall said, according to the New Zealand Herald.

The baby's mother spoke to local media, saying she could not get over the death of her "healthy baby boy."

The pregnant woman had booked the self-employed midwife. The woman went into labor when she was 38 weeks pregnant. She had been connected to a baby heart monitor, but the midwife made limited documentation of the recordings.

The deputy commissioner found the midwife to be in breach of the Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers' rights. The breach of the code also included failure to recognise the abnormal readings and consulting with other medical practitioners about the abnormal heart monitor readings.

This led to a diagnosis of severe hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy, or "birth asphyxia." This condition causes permanent brain damage in the child due to a lack of oxygen during birth, 1News reported.

The midwife admitted her interpretation of the data at the time "was not of an appropriate standard."

"I am now aware I should have recorded my observations regardless, and have changed my practice accordingly," she said in a statement to the HDC.

It wasn't clear if any action was taken against the midwife.

Earlier this month, a newborn baby in India suffered a fracture in his right hand during a natural birth at a hospital. The child's family accused the staff of medical negligence. The incident took place in the southern state of Tamil Nadu. The child's family blamed the doctors and nurses for negligently handling the newborn during birth.

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