Newborns Showing Symptoms Of GBS Require Treatment Without delay
Several diseases and bacteria that can pose a great risk to the health and even the life of an infant. One such bacteria is the group b strep bacteria. It may be transmitted from the pregnant woman to the newborn in the course of childbirth. As such doctors usually recognize that a newborn who shows signs which could be the result of a GBS infection and whose mother tested positive for the bacteria in the course of the pregnancy needs to have the right antibiotics used right away. A lapse of time in treatment may lead to severe and irreversible damage to the baby.
Recently born children with a group b strep infection at first tend to present with symptoms which can be non-specific for GBS. This why doctors need to think about it in the differential diagnosis when signs that might be from a group b strep Infection are present in a baby. A number of cases have resulted from a doctor’s failure to do this and parents whose infant was harmed under such circumstances should consult a birth injury attorney without delay.
For instance, in one published case a doctor who examined a 6 week old infant with a high fever did not take a complete history from the mother and failed to take the time to look at the prenatal chart which recorded that the mother had been a carrier of GBS during the pregnancy. The phycisian thus based her plan to hold off on administering any antibiotics to the child until she could get back test results on incomplete info
Without| the critical bit of facts the statistics indicated that the child’s symptoms were from a different cause. As a result the baby became septic, developed meningitis and suffered strokes. This left her with mental retardation and seizures that are not treatable with medication. The mother and father went forward with a medical malpractice claim and also the law firm that handled the case reported it as settled for $6.15 Million.
You should consult a doctor without delay in case you believe your infant has a health problem and seek the advice of a medical negligence lawyer if you believe your child was injured from a mistake by a doctor or other well being care professional.
