How We Can Help

• Car Accidents
• Nursing Home Injury
• Medical Malpractice
• Child Injuries

Videos

Child Injuries:

• Florida Child Injury Lawyer Discusses Dangerous Holiday Decorations
• The School Nurse Ignored My Child's Broken Nose: Can I Sue? | Orlando Child Injury Attorney
• Will You Guarantee My Child Receives Money For Injuries Caused By Her Doctor's Negligence?
• The Best Childcare In Your Area? | Daytona Beach Child Injury Lawyer
• Who Is Liable If My Child Is Injured By Another Child?

View All

Pitocin Overdose Causes Baby Brain Damage

In this case, hospital staff forgot to turn off the IV drip administering Pitocin to a woman in labor. With so much contraction-inducing Pitocin acting on the uterus, the infant could not get enough oxygen-bearing blood to his brain during labor and suffered hypoxic encephalopathy brain damage.

However, the hospital claimed the woman could not prove that the abnormal contractions was the actual cause of the brain damage because many babies are born with brain damage during labors that do not involve abnormally strong uterine contractions from Pitocin overdoses.

This oversimplified argument was not overlooked. A detailed analysis of birth statistics was performed on a database of 16 million American births to determine the true probabilities.

That analysis began by finding all birth cases involving brain damage caused by lack of oxygen. Then all other causes were removed from consideration such as infection, umbilical cords wrapped around the infant's neck cutting oxygen supply, etc.

Once that population was found, the ratio was calculated of brain injury when Pitocin overdose occurred versus risk of brain injury when Pitocin overdose did not occur.

That ratio turned out to reveal that infants were 740 percent more likely to suffer brain damage when hospital staff or nurses left the Pitocin on than when they did not.

Your Questions Answered