In most deliveries, there is no need for infant resuscitation. If the baby is healthy, and there are no problems concerning the placenta, amniotic membranes, positioning and presentation, or infections, then the baby should be able to be delivered without experiencing any significant asphyxiation. However, if the baby is having trouble breathing or not getting a sufficient amount of oxygen, it is important that the medical staff recognizes this immediately. In extreme cases, infant resuscitation error causes hypoxia, brain damage, cerebral palsy, neurological disorders, and even death.
Without oxygen, a baby’s body will begin to fail. The brain is often one of the first organs to suffer cell death and lasting damage due to oxygen deprivation, and the longer asphyxiation lasts, the more damaging it can be. Asphyxiation and hypoxia during childbirth can be caused by a number of different factors including prolapsed umbilical cord, placental abruption, undeveloped lungs and premature birth, fetal distress, and use of forceps or vacuum extraction.
It is the responsibility of the medical staff to monitor for any problems and look for signs that the fetus is not receiving enough oxygen. Delay of intubation and resuscitation is the most common infant resuscitation error. Here are some of the other infant resuscitation error causes that you should know.
Fetal Monitoring and Detection of Asphyxiation
One of the leading infant resuscitation error causes is failure to monitor the fetus. Immediate detection of fetal distress, asphyxiation, and hypoxia is critical in order to preserve the health of the baby. If the fetus is suddenly without oxygen, the medical staff will need to immediately change their procedures to remove the baby and restore breathing as soon as possible. In many cases this means performing an emergency C-section.
Without adequate monitoring, a baby may go through long periods without oxygen and will then have serious neurological problems after delivery. Monitoring of premature and low birth weight babies is critical even after the delivery in order to prevent infant resuscitation error.
Inexperience of the Medical Staff
Hypoxia and other complications may occur during the birth if the medical staff is not sufficiently experienced and skilled in assisting with delivery. Medical professionals need to have a large amount of clinical knowledge in order to understand the signs of fetal distress and asphyxiation. In addition, medical staff should have experience performing infant resuscitation in the past, or else they may not know how to act in the situation.
When a fetus is not receiving oxygen, it requires all of the doctors and staff to work in unison and quickly provide emergency care. Inexperience and teamwork problems can slow down the response and lead to permanent brain damage. In addition, medical staff members who do not know the proper procedures may fail to ask for help, and this is another one of the common infant resuscitation error causes.
Misconduct and Improper Techniques
During an infant resuscitation scenario, there are clinical guidelines and procedures that must be followed in order to lower the risk to the fetus. If these guidelines are not followed, it can result in more serious damage or death during the delivery. Mistakes in the administration of drugs to the mother and fetus can also result in infant resuscitation error.
In addition to all of these infant resuscitation error causes, asphyxiation can also be caused by malpractice, neglect, and malfunctioning medical equipment. There are many different types of tools and machines that are used to restore breathing function in a newborn baby. If these machines are not working properly, not well-maintained, or ineffective, they may not provide enough oxygen to the baby to prevent injuries, disorders, or death.
