The Conselleria de Sanidad will compensate the parents of a baby who died three days after birth due to incorrect medical care provided to the mother during childbirth with 175,000 euros.
This is evident from a resolution, obtained by Europa Press, from the patrimonial responsibility service of the Conselleria de Sanidad, which, in an administrative setting, partially estimates the parents’ claim and establishes compensation of 174,327.05 euros –200,000 euros were requested–.
The family, represented by lawyer Carmen Romero, filed a claim against Sanidad for severe perinatal asphyxia suffered by their baby at the Hospital de Sagunto due to the lack of observance and evaluation of data revealing fetal distress, as reflected in the birth charts.
The distress was persistent from five to eight in the morning, without the necessary and urgent cesarean section being performed on the mother, which would have prevented neonatal asphyxia. This action caused serious consequences for the child, who died three days later on February 20, 2013.
The mother’s water broke around 10 p.m. on February 17, 2013, a Sunday, so she went to the Emergency Department of the Hospital de Sagunto. At that time, both she and the fetus were in perfect condition. It was a full-term pregnancy with no previous complications.
The woman was admitted to the healthcare facility and was attended by a midwife, who examined her and found she was dilated two to three centimeters. The gynecologist then performed an initial check-up and referred the woman to a room on the maternity floor.
After a few hours, the contractions became regular, and the dilation was eight centimeters. The midwife advised her to push because the baby was not positioned correctly and assisted her with her fingers. Between four and seven-thirty in the morning, the midwife’s actions were limited to entering and leaving the room, «in a state of calm, looking at the clock, and sitting in a chair using her mobile phone.» She did not follow the basic rules of caution or minimal diligence.
By five o’clock, there were already signs of fetal distress. The gynecologist and midwife attending to her did not make the decision to perform an urgent cesarean section despite the evident fetal distress, as there was an irregular dynamic, as seen in the birth charts.
ATTITUDE «AWAY FROM PROTOCOLS»
According to the plaintiffs, the attitude of the midwife and gynecologist was completely distant from medical protocols and the ‘lex artis’ since, despite being aware of the situation, they did not act. By six in the morning, the signs of fetal distress were already alarming.
However, the cesarean section was still not agreed upon. The mother remained pushing between five and eight hours and ten minutes without receiving a cesarean section. «A cesarean section should have been performed, but they maintained an expectant attitude and waited for the change of shift, disregarding the most basic duties of care required, violating the most elementary rules of caution or diligence so that the colleagues of the new shift could make a decision and not prolong their work hours.»
At eight in the morning, during the shift change, another midwife entered, alarmed by the situation of the mother and baby, quickly placed her on the bed in a birthing position and alerted the gynecologists of the new shift. The unborn child was in a deplorable state.
They immediately informed the husband of the parturient that they were going to transfer her to the delivery room and operating room. This time, she was administered oxytocin and an episiotomy was performed. With the help of a vacuum extractor, the baby was born at 8:36 a.m.
The baby, due to the delay in the expulsion period, was born without responsive attention, meaning she did not cry or breathe. They immediately intubated her, administered adrenaline, and performed cardiac massage. She was transferred to Hospital La Fe in València, where she died three days later.