An unusual traumatic delivery malpractice: a case report

Head trauma may occur during delivery and can lead to a number of conditions. When an infant is injured during birth, the cause of injury is generally due to mechanical forces, such as compression, excessive or abnormal traction during delivery, and the use of forceps. A 39-year-old woman who was a primagravida (first pregnancy) with a gestational age of 26 weeks premature pregnancy was referred to a hospital in Tehran due to premature rupture of membranes (PROM) and fever. She arrived 2 h after rupture (noting that the rupture lasted for one week and then the baby was delivered). Antibiotics were given early on. After weak labour pain, vaginal examination revealed that the cervix was fully dilated and one of the feet of the foetus had come out of the cervix and was seen in the vagina. The foetus had died. The delivery staff used traction with force. Due to the age of the foetus, the head was relatively big and could not be delivered; the neck was thin and broken and the head separated from the body. The mother underwent a caesarean section to deliver the head of the foetus a week after PROM. The father of the dead newborn foetus sued the hospital and the staff responsible for the delivery. When medical professionals damage the trust between patients and their families and babies are injured children, they should be held accountable