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October 1989, Vol 143, No. 10 >
Article | October 1989

Perinatal Asphyxia and Cerebral Palsy:  Fact, Fiction, or Legal Prediction? FREE

ALAN D. BEDRICK, MD
Am J Dis Child. 1989;143(10):1139-1140. doi:10.1001/archpedi.1989.02150220027014.
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The scenario is familiar to all of us. A medical malpractice lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a child with cerebral palsy. An obstetrician and often the pediatrician who cared for the child at birth and many years thereafter receive court documents naming them as defendants in the suit.

The child may be several years old now and suffers from a visible and distressing physical condition. The plaintiff's attorney sorts through medical records with a fine-tooth comb looking for any potential impropriety, searching for fault in the mother's or child's medical treatment. The job of the plaintiff's attorney is to show that medical care rendered to the mother and/or infant fell "below accepted standards of care" and "to a medical probability" contributed to the child's current medical condition.

The logic of this legal case often rests on the association of perinatal events to long-term neurologic sequelae such as cerebral

REFERENCES

1 +
Naeye RL, Peters EC, Bartholomew M, Landis JR.  Origins of cerebral palsy . AJDC . 1989;; 143:1154-1161.
2 +
Towbin A.  Obstetric malpractice litigation: the pathologist's view . Am J Obstet Gynecol . 1986;;155:927-935.
3 +
Little W.  On the influence of abnormal parturition, difficult labours, premature birth, and asphyxia neonatorum on the mental and physical condition of the child, especially in relation to deformities . Trans Obstet Soc Lond . 1862;;3:293-344.
4 +
Freud S; Russin CA, trans. Infantile Cerebral Paralysis , Coral Gables, Fla: University of Miami Press; 1968;:142.
5 +
Braun F, Jones K, Smith D.  Breech presentation as an indicator of fetal abnormality . J Pediatr . 1975;;86:419-421.
6 +
Niswander K, Gordon M. The Women and Their Pregnancies . Philadelphia, Pa: WB Saunders Co; 1972;.
7 +
Freeman J, Nelson K.  Intrapartum asphyxia and cerebral palsy . Pediatrics . 1988;;82: 240-250.
8 +
Nelson K, Ellenberg J.  Antecedants of cerebral palsy . N Engl J Med . 1986;;315:81-86.
9 +
Niswander K, Henson G, Elborne D, et al.  Adverse outcome of pregnancy and the quality of obstetric care . Lancet . 1984;;2:827-831.

Figures

Tables

Interactive Graphics

Video

Country-Specific Mortality and Growth Failure in Infancy and Yound Children and Association With Material Stature

Use interactive graphics and maps to view and sort country-specific infant and early dhildhood mortality and growth failure data and their association with maternal

References

1 +
Naeye RL, Peters EC, Bartholomew M, Landis JR.  Origins of cerebral palsy . AJDC . 1989;; 143:1154-1161.
2 +
Towbin A.  Obstetric malpractice litigation: the pathologist's view . Am J Obstet Gynecol . 1986;;155:927-935.
3 +
Little W.  On the influence of abnormal parturition, difficult labours, premature birth, and asphyxia neonatorum on the mental and physical condition of the child, especially in relation to deformities . Trans Obstet Soc Lond . 1862;;3:293-344.
4 +
Freud S; Russin CA, trans. Infantile Cerebral Paralysis , Coral Gables, Fla: University of Miami Press; 1968;:142.
5 +
Braun F, Jones K, Smith D.  Breech presentation as an indicator of fetal abnormality . J Pediatr . 1975;;86:419-421.
6 +
Niswander K, Gordon M. The Women and Their Pregnancies . Philadelphia, Pa: WB Saunders Co; 1972;.
7 +
Freeman J, Nelson K.  Intrapartum asphyxia and cerebral palsy . Pediatrics . 1988;;82: 240-250.
8 +
Nelson K, Ellenberg J.  Antecedants of cerebral palsy . N Engl J Med . 1986;;315:81-86.
9 +
Niswander K, Henson G, Elborne D, et al.  Adverse outcome of pregnancy and the quality of obstetric care . Lancet . 1984;;2:827-831.

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