If your child suffered a birth injury because of a medical mistake you did not cause, you may have questions about what happened and whether it could have been prevented. When you are trying to understand what went wrong, the information recorded throughout your baby’s care can matter.
Here are some records that can help you understand what happened and support your claim.
Prenatal and pregnancy records
These can show whether you had complications, risk factors or abnormal test results that called for additional monitoring or treatment before labor began.
Gather:
- Prenatal visit notes
- Ultrasound results
- Laboratory and other test results
- Notes about pregnancy complications or identified risks
Your pregnancy records can also help establish what your medical team knew before labor and whether the concerns documented received appropriate attention during delivery.
Labor and delivery records
These can help establish a timeline of changes in your baby’s condition, the treatment you received and the decisions made during delivery.
Gather:
- Fetal monitoring strips
- Nursing notes
- Physician notes
- Medication records
- Records of a C-section or assisted delivery
These time-sensitive documentation can show what providers could see at specific points during labor. Those findings can help determine whether your medical team recognized signs of distress and responded appropriately.
Newborn and NICU records
Your baby’s records can help show signs of distress, oxygen deprivation or other concerns that developed after delivery and document how medical providers responded.
Gather:
- Apgar scores
- Newborn examination records
- Emergency treatment records
- NICU records
- Diagnostic test results
Your baby’s condition and treatment after delivery may also help show whether the care provided addressed problems that had already appeared before birth.
Follow-up and treatment records
These documents can show how the injury affected your child after leaving the hospital and what care your child needed as a result.
Gather:
- Pediatric visit notes
- Specialist evaluations
- Diagnostic testing
- Physical therapy records
- Occupational or other therapy records
Some birth injuries become easier to identify over time, particularly when your child needs ongoing treatment or developmental support.
Protect your child’s legal rights
Keeping your child’s medical information organized can help preserve important evidence if you later pursue a birth injury claim. If important documents appear to be missing or you have difficulty obtaining it, an attorney can help you understand your options for obtaining the information and reviewing it as part of your claim.