United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Have there been any bpi in Utero? If yes, do I have a chance for a lawsuit?

My water broke at 34 weeks. I went to the hospital and they sent me home. They told me that the baby was putting pressure on my bladder. The nurse did not give me a pelvic exam. She just said my contractions were not strong. I kept having to use maxi pads cause of the leak. At 36 weeks I went in for a sonogram and was asked when did my water break. I told them 2 weeks ago. They told me that they were calling my doctor and for me to go straight to the hospital cause I was gonna have to have my baby because my amnio fluid was very low. I noticed my sons left arm was limp but his ped. did not know what was wrong. He was not diagnosed till 4 1/2 months brachial plexis palsy, and torticollis. At 2 diagnosed with sensory processing disorder and Encephalopathy(brain injury) (no blood flow to brain) (in Utero). I tried to get a lawyer when my son was 7 months and his arm was paralyzed but no one took his cause. Now, he has other issues that also are injuries that happed in Utero due to the hospital sending me home when my water broke. The lawyer did tell me if he gets better I have no case. He did get better from bpi but now other diagnosis have arised. I need any advice and any phone numbers.

thanks
evee

I don't know about the lawsuit or if this can happen in utero, but I find the stuff about your water breaking and being sent home interesting. This just happened to my friend. Her water broke at 25 weeks. She went to the dr and was sent home saying it was incontinence. They actually tested some of the fluid and came up negative for amniotic fluid. She kept using maxi pads, but a week later the fluid turned pink so she went back to the dr and they admitted her to the hospital for obs. The fluid still tested negative for amniotic fluid, but they did an ultrasound and noticed the fluid was low. Over the next week she had all kinds of med. to keep her from going into labor, but she did deliver at 28 weeks. He is in the NICU and doing good right now, but it's puzzling that these health care providers send people home when their water has broken...
I know this wasn't your question, but I can't believe the similarities in the story.

Jakesmom:
With my first pregnancy, my water broke (gushed, actually) at 25 weeks. I had never been pregnant before but i just knew that was not a good thing... I called my mom and told her what happened and then called my obs. My sister came and drove me over there and my mom met us there. I'll never forget sitting in the waiting area and meeting a mom I knew who was also pregnant and thinking that I might not be pregnant for long.

They knew right away that my water had broken and did a sonogram in the office. She was head down, but still alive. They told me that I would most likely go into labor within 48 hours and that my hubby and I should discuss "what we want to do." (Note: this was just after the Baby M case in NY and hospitals were very, very careful about "what" they did for compromised infants). I was shocked. Truly, shocked. But I was not in labor.

I was put on bedrest (couch rest) and monday morning I was still not in labor. They had me meet one of the obs at the hospital for a high-resolution sono... baby still alive, amnio level low, but steady. They also found that one of her kidneys was cystic and not functioning. Since she was my first, my docs ordered me to bedrest where I remained for 10 weeks. At that time I started to run a fever and we all called it a day. I was induced and Nicolette was born (with a broken collar bone, using forceps--oy vey) about 8 hours later.

She stayed in the NICU for 11 days (they told me a month-minimum) and then I took her home. She is not your average preemie, nor your average kidney patient. She missed a few milestones, but caught up quickly. She is now 13 1/2.

Not your usual way of dealing with PROM, but it worked for us. My obs theory on keeping me home was that there were no other kids(nothing for me to do) and that the chance of infection was much higher in the hospital than out.

Every case is different...

Evee, I would look for a different lawyer. Call your local Bar Association for referrals.

claudia

claudia-
did they give you a reason as to why your water broke so early? My friend has an incompetent cervix. just curious.

Hi Jakesmom,

I glad you share your story with me. I thought I was the only one that experienced this. The nurse did ask me what color the fluid was. I told her it light yellow and clear fluid running down my legs. I ran to the toilet when I felt wet. I thought I couldnt wait to go to the bathroom. The nurse didn't even examine me or look at the maxipad. She didnt even test it.

I hope your friends baby will be ok. It seems that the hospitals do not check any of the babies for brachial plexus injuries. My son was not checked at the hospital or at the pediatricians office. I had to bug the doctor for 4 months to send him to a specialist. I felt something was wrong.

thanks again
evee

Hi Claudia,

Thanks for sharing your story. I hope your child is doing ok.

I will try to find another lawyer. I just need to get alot of medical records and phone numbers ready.

thanks
evee

I just want to make a couple quick points as a labor and delivery nurse.

Your water can break early for many reasons, and sometimes the reason is never found out.

I know at our hospital (and I have worked at 2 hospitals that do this in the same fashion), we check for ruptured membranes (broken bag of water) by doing a nitrazine swab, a speculum exam (like getting a pap smear unless you are pouring fluid out then it is obvious that you broke your water) and check for pooling of fluid visually, and a slide test with fluid on it under a microscope for ferning (the fluid once dried on the slide looks like crystallized fern plants). There is also a distinct smell of amniotic fluid compared to urine and other secretions (I'm sorry if I am grossing anyone out).

Your amniotic fluid can be low for many reasons other than your bag of water breaking. Many patients are induced for oligohydramnios (low amniotic fluid) and their water had never broke.

I (along with everyone else at the hospital I work at) check for symmetrical arm movement (not specifically BPI but the arm movement and if there isn't symmetrical movement then you investigate further) when we do the Dubowitz assessment within the first 1 hour of life (done by the nurse). The pediatrician usually will assess the baby within the first 24 hours depending on when the baby was born and the nurse will call the pediatrician in earlier if there is a concern. To not check for symmetrical arm movement on a newborn (whether you do the Dubowitz or just check for the normal Moro reflex) is perplexing to me as a nurse who does mother/baby care in a labor/delivery/postpartum unit.

Interesting that your pediatrician didn't know the diagnosis of BPI or that a referral was needed if he/she couldn't diagnose it. Was the delivery a difficult one where the injury could have occured then?

Good luck.

Tanya in NY
Amber's Mom, ROBPI, 3 1/2 years old

We don't know exactly why my water broke though we do have one theory. As the sonogram showed a cystic and non-functioning kidney...it has been theorized that since the amniotic fluid has a chemical and restorative relationship with the amniotic fluid that the kidneys produce, that there was a small period of time that my daughter's kidneys were nto functioning at all, and so the amniotic water level decreased. At some point the one good kidney jumped back into action and so there was an increase in the fluid produced. Since my water "burst", the pressure from the new influx of water was too much for a smaller amniotic sac and we had PROM. Like I said... only a theory. Since I didn't have a fever and I didn't go into labor, infection didn't seem likely. My cervix was fine...This was the only thing we could point to, besides stress (my father died one month to day before my water broke).

Oh, Nicolette is just fine. 13 1/2 years old and letting me know every minute!!!!

claudia

Hi Tanya,

My pregancy was difficult. My diabetes was out of control and the OBGYN never tested me till a certain week in my pregnancy. I forgot when they normally test you. But, I had early symptoms and it runs in my family. I switched OBGYN's 4-5 times and none of them tested me. I was in and out of the hospital with pre-mature contractions. At six months when I went to the ER because of pains in my back and stomach, they admitted me for pre-mature contractions and checked me for diabetes because I told them my mom checked my sugars and they were in the 200's. They gave me medication for the contractions and then the next day tested me for diabetes. It was still in the 200's. My OBGYN discharged me and told me to make an appointment with another doctor who will see me for the diabetes. She didn't even give me medication to bring my sugar down. I had to wait 1 1/2 weeks to see the other doctor for diabetes. I was so sick and my stomach felt like it was gonna burst. I had extra amnio fluid that is why my stomach was so tight and large. I was in and out of hospitals due to pre-mature contractions from 6 months till 36 weeks. My delivery was normal except for the low fluid. I had a c-section. After my baby was born the person who was in charge to exam my son was so busy that they handed my mom the baby and she walk the halls with me when they wheeled me to recovery. We had my son for at least an hour. Then the nurse came to the recovery and said Im sorry I had lots of patients. I will take him not and examine him and take him to the nursery. I thought that was strange cause my son weighed 4 lbs. 15 oz. I was concerned about him being so tiny and needing oxygen. As for the nurse examing me when my water broke she didn't even check me. My mom and I were so mad. I didn't even get to see the doctor on call. The pediatrician never mentioned what was wrong with my son till 4 1/2 months when I had to call for the referral to the orthopedic.

I understand some nurses and doctors do there job and do it well. But, there are some nurses and doctors that are not doing a good job. I kept blaming that it was cause I had medicaid. My son has still had problems getting referred and diagnosed. He just got diagnosed for a brain injury that should have been diagnosed when he was born or at least within the 1st month. He had no or little blood flow to his brain in Utero.

evee

Oh my God evee....where did you give birth? That sounds horrible and crazy! I'm so sorry your care was so poor.

shari