Risks Of Doctor Not Following GBS Protocol With Expectant Mother
By: J. Hernandez
Submitted: 2011-02-02 15:33:39 | Word Count: 749
One of the dangers to newborns is that they may come in contact with a very harmful bacteria, known as group b strep, if the mother is a carrier even if the mother has no symptoms. The danger of a child getting a group b strep infection if the mother has the bacteria is roughly one in two hundred. If the baby does develop the infection the baby is at risk of acquiring various life-threatening conditions including sepsis, pneumonia and meningitis. These can leave the child with serious lifelong issues such as blindness, deafness, seizures, developmental delays and brain damage.
Doctors typically suggest that antibiotics be given during labor in order to considerably reducing the chances that the baby will contract a gbs infection. Given the risk to newborns the majority of physicians concur that antibiotics should be administered to all pregnant women who have a history of the bacteria earlier in the pregnancy or a prior pregnancy. Physicians also generally agree that all other pregnant women should generally be screened for the presence of the bacteria between weeks 35 and 37 of the pregnancy even if they exhibit no symptoms. Screening is a simple procedure. A physician or nurse uses a swab to acquire specimen from the pregnant woman. The specimen are cultured and then analyzed for the bacteria. The present guidelines are that a positive test result ought to give rise to antibiotics during labor.
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If doctors fail to adhere to this protocol there is the possibility that the mother will pass the bacteria to the baby and that the baby will develop a gbs infection. Under these circumstances physicians will normally administer antibiotics to the infant as a safety measure. Moreover, the child is carefully observed for any signs of infection. Fever, difficulty breathing, limpness, lethargy, stiffness and seizures are among some of the signs that the baby has the infection. Should the child exhibit signs of the infection antibiotics can be administered and a full diagnostic workup performed. Due to how quickly a group b strep infection can bring about sepsis, pneumonia or meningitis and how harmful these are to the wellbeing of the child, treatment should start as quickly as possible, ordinarily even before test results are available. Otherwise, there is a possibility that even when the child survives the outcome can be lifelong impairments.
There are thus four essential stages to the protocol. In that way so that even if it is not met in one stage it can be met at a later one. The first phase is finding out which pregnancies at at risk. This is subdivided down into two substeps. The first substep is knowing the mother’s history for prior gbs colonization and risk factors. Second, screening even if the mother is not a known previous carrior and exhibits no risk factors. Then there is the administration of antibiotics during labor for at risk pregnancies and pregnancies of an indeterminate status. In the event that antibiotics are not administered, antibiotics are given to the infant and the baby is closely watched. Finally, if the baby does acquire an infection treatment and testing need to start right away. The issue is that sometimes doctors neglect to follow the protocol. Consequently, whether the failure occurs from not spotting risk factors or getting a full medical history, not screening the mother, not administering antibiotics during labor, not administering antibiotics or carefully monitoring an at risk baby after birth, or not diagnosing and treating a Group B Strep infection quickly enough, the consequence can be tragic.
If doctors neglect to abide by the protocol and the infant suffers a serious injury or does not survive the family ought to consult a medical malpractice lawyer right away. The attorney can assist the parents in sorting through what happened to their child and whether the physicians or medical staff were responsible and might face medical malpractice liability. Given the seriousness of the damage a GBS infection can cause the child, the settlement or award if the lawsuit is successful has the potential to be substantial. The hope is that it can be sufficient to protect the child's future.
Author Resource:-
Joseph Hernandez is an Attorney accepting complex injury cases, including birth injury medical malpractice cases. You can learn more about group b streptococcus and other placental abruption matters by visiting the websites
