Pediatrician Negligence?

[negligencehelp]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[cbg]

Don't hit the preview button. It eats your posts.

 

[negligencehelp]

Don't hit the preview button. It eats your posts.

OOPS! I didn't hit preview but it is too long. SO here it is in two segments...:


I believe my daughter has been a victim of Pediatric Negligence. When my daughter (Harper) was born, she was exclusively breast fed. She was born at 6 lbs 8 oz and 19.5 inches long with a head circ of 33 cm. By 2 weeks old, she weighed 7 lbs 14 oz and 20.3 inches long, with head circ of 35.5 cm. We continued with our normal checkups, and everything seemed to be going normal. One thing that Harper had had problems with from the very beginning is her gassiness.

Passing gas and stool was always very painful for her, and always a struggle. When I would bring this is up to my pediatrician, I was told again and again that "it's just gas, nothing we can do." Well, breastfeeding started to get more and more tricky, as Harper didn't seem very happy when she would eat. I would have to move her A LOT to get her to keep eating. I figured this was 'just gas' as we were told so many times before.

The day before her 2 month appt, the meltdowns started. I even called her ped that night (4/10/13) because Harper was screaming uncontrollably all day and night. I was told by the dr on call that they definitely wanted to see her, and that's when I informed her that we had her 2 month appt the next day. She suggested I keep my appt and bring it up then. So when I got to her appt, she weighed 9lbs 10oz 22.5 inches long and 39 cm head circ. She went from 48 percentile to the 6th percentile for weight from 2 weeks to 2 months.

Her Pediatrician wouldn't stop saying "how perfect" she was and how "cute" she was, and that she was just a "small" baby and to not stop breastfeeding, because she is doing great! (I had literally asked if I needed to supplement at this appointment, because I was worried about her getting smaller). I even told her that I couldn't get a lot of breastmilk when I would pump, and she said that that can be normal, and sometimes the pump just doesn't work as well for some people.

I was asked if she was having wet diapers and poopy diapers, and Harper was, so I said yes. I was instructed that if I wanted to continue to breastfeed, that there was NO issue whatsoever, and that it would be best for her. When I brought up the meltdown, her dr literally told me that "some babies are just gassier than other babies"

I knew something was wrong with my baby, and this dr didn't give me the time of day. She never tried looking into ANYTHING. She didn't offer ONE suggestion, or possible cause for my baby's endless suffering screams. She even tried to pawn it off as 'colic' even though it was just starting at over 10 weeks old, and prior to the meltdowns, I had a perfectly happy (but gassy) baby.

I even stopped her in the hallway as I was leaving, because I was so taken aback by the lack of care to ask her "So, if you're just going to tell me it's gas, and my baby is absolutely miserable, when is this supposed to get better??" And I received the generic response of "every baby is different, can't say for sure." I was so hopeless leaving the dr that day, that I went home and started doing my OWN research. (I would like to add in here, that neither Harper or myself have insurance, so I am paying this monster $150 a visit to basically treat me like a paranoid first time mother). What I found was information on possible food intolerances. So I cut out ALL dairy and from my diet.

I went cold turkey on even trace amounts of anything I thought would cause my poor miserable child uncomfort. And it did seem to help! I also started her on a probiotic to help her with her gassiness, just another thing I had to figure out and try on my own without a thought from my pediatrician. Harper still had meltdowns, although they got a little better, and she still had lots of trouble wanting to nurse.

A couple of days after her 2 month appt (4/15/13), I brought her back in because of her nursing strikes (she didn't eat for over 10 hours - I had had enough) and when I told her that Harper refused to eat, and that I thought it was because of her tummy, she looked down Harper's throat, nose, ears, and claimed that everything looked great, but she was SURE Harper was getting a virus. This is why Harper had meltdowns and wouldn't eat. I felt absolutely defeated. By the way, Harper lost 2 ounces from her 2 month appt on 4/11/13 to 4/15/13 and went from the 6th percentile to the 3rd, in just 4 days.

We left the Dr's. once again, with absolutely NO ANSWERS and NO suggestions. Just to give her tylenol for this apparent VIRUS that she thought Harper MIGHT get (but showed NO signs on in any way WHATSOEVER). We were told we didn't need to be seen again until 4 months. SHOCKED, we went home, and I continued to cut dairy and from my diet. I also cut Soy at this time.

Every single feeding we did was an absolute nightmare. Switching from side to side, trying to figure out how she would be comfortable.. I would offer her to eat every single hour because she would never stay latched for more than 30 seconds. I could sometimes get her to eat more when she was sleepy, but overall, for 1.5 months, our house was absolutely hell. It was CONSTANT sobbing myself to sleep, trying to get my baby to EAT FOOD, because she was getting skinny- I could tell!

I didn't know what to do, and I felt like I had no DR to turn to, because I was told time and time again that she was just gassy, to continue breastfeeding, and ride it out. Well, on 5/15/13 which was about 20 or so days before her 4 month appt, I called the dr again. I was worried about Harper. I would weigh her on my scale in the bathroom but I wasn't sure how accurate it was..

I called and my dr wasn't in for the day, so I asked that they have the dr on call give me a call. He called me, and I basically told him that I wasn't sure if he wanted me to wait until her 4 month appt to take her in, or if I should come in sooner. He asked me what was going on, so I informed him that I thought she had intolerances to dairy and soy, and that she was taking probiotics and not eating well AT ALL. I also told him that I thought she may weigh around 9 pounds according to my scale, and that she may have lost weight since my last visit.

He was infinitely more helpful in our 8 minute phone conversation than our original pediatrician had been Harper's entire life. He told her to try her on a different probiotic (which he recommended a brand), and told me to bring her in before her 4 month appt so that they could get a better idea of her weight. I asked if I could see him instead of her regular dr, and he made room for me, and saw me in just 4 days from the time I spoke with him. When I brought her in she weighed 8 LBS 9 OZ. Was only 23 inches in length (only gained .5 inches in almost 2 months) and she LOST half an inch around her head circumference!!!!!! (38.5 cm).

I literally almost threw up in his office. We went over her entire history while I was there, and we determined that we think what happened was that it started off as an intolerance issue, which is why she has had so many issues since birth, and it has turned into a breastmilk supply issue from all of the nursing strikes and refusal. I was basically told that I am starving my baby. I was so angry, hurt, betrayed, that when he left the office to go and get me some samples of hypo-allergenic formula to try, I started sobbing. My heart literally broke in that drs room. I never wanted it to get this far - to where my daughter was basically EATING herself. She was being sustained on just her own fat tissue and organs. How is this OKAY?

If my Dr had even TRIED to get to the bottom of my daughter's problems, if she had even TRIED to look into it, or help my poor baby BEFORE my supply tanked, we wouldn't have been in this boat. My daughter and I are VICIOUS victims of pediatric negligence. I have evidence that the physician provided medical care for the patient before the time of first malpractice incident. I have evidence that an incorrect diagnosis was made. (My daughter NEVER caught a virus.) I have evidence of an inadequate or incorrect treatment plan of the medical situation. I have proof that the patient received a lack of attention and/or did not receive proper monitoring of their situation. I also have proof that patient complications that may have developed were not taken care of properly and/or within a necessary time to hinder further problems.

My baby girl could have died from this. I don't know what kind of impact this is going to have on her growth and developement. I have no idea if any of her poor DEVELOPING organs have been compromised in order to KEEP HER ALIVE.

We have definitely experienced :
Pain and suffering
A loss of income
Medical bills/prescription costs
Loss of enjoyment of life

 

[negligencehelp]

If she had done even an OUNCE of her job, we may not have to pay for liquid ready to feed Alimentum formula at $10 a day. She took SO MUCH away from ME AND MY BABY. She single-handedly ruined breastfeeding for us, which has substantially impacted our bank account, and she TOOK AWAY any hope for happiness from 2 to 4 months old.

It was almost enough to where I needed to be seen for evaluation. I felt like a complete failure as a mother, and I just wanted to take her pain away. I just wanted her to listen to me and help me fix it. I needed her to do her job, and she failed in every single way. There were moments during this time, that I didn't want to live anymore. When your baby is screaming bloody murder every day and all night long, and is in apparent PAIN and suffering, and there is nothing you can do about it... It takes a toll on you.

I seriously blame this dr for all the pain and suffering and financial stress that this has brought to my family. If she had been more attentive, or even ATTENTIVE AT ALL, I may have been able to restore our breastfeeding relationship. I may have been able to catch this before my daughter LOST a pound. God forbid if my daughter HAD gotten sick. She would have ended up hospitalized, or dead.

I need to know if I have a case against this monster of a woman of a pediatrician.

 

[Shadowbunny]

You may want to edit your post to add some white space/paragraphs. That big ol' block of text is really hard to read.

 

[Proserpina]

I've read the whole thing and honestly, I'm simply not seeing any malpractice at all.

 

[Gail in Georgia]

'If she had done even an OUNCE of her job, we may not have to pay for liquid ready to feed Alimentum formula at $10 a day.'

If your infant requires an expensive hypo-allergenic formula, why is this the pediatricians fault?

" I felt like a complete failure as a mother"

You are not a failure as a mother. Not every woman can breastfeed for a wide variety of reasons.

" I may have been able to restore our breastfeeding relationship. "

Again, not if your infant requires a hypoallergenic formula.

Gail

 

[Antigone*]

I really want to know what mom's financial damages are?

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Medicine is a practice. You scheduled appointments. If you wanted 24 hour care to make firsthand analysis of things you as a parent should help determine, you should have paid for it. I suggest you start your own milking business. Give us a minute, we'll suck your milk. Do chemical analysis to provide mom a structured eating pattern to maximize the childs response. Use leftovers to open a milkshake stand in a gentlemans club.

 

[ecmst12]

You are quite hysterical and that is not helping you here.

Clearly you need to not go back to that doctor. Your baby will recover and be ok. You should also see a lactation consultant - it is possible for your milk supply to recover if you get proper instruction and support. Obviously you will need to feed her formula for now, but there are definitely things you can do to increase your supply and you may be able to get her back on the breast in time. You may also want to have the baby evaluated for a posterior tongue tie, those are harder to diagnose but can still cause feeding problems.

The most important lesson you need to learn here is to listen to your instincts and don't let any doctor blow you off when you have concerns about your child or yourself.

Legally, I don't think you have anything actionable since your child should make a full recovery and the doctor failing to listen to your concerns is not what caused the problem with your supply or the baby's feeding.

Above all, NONE of this makes you a failure as a mother, even if you are not able to get back to breastfeeding. There's a heck of a lot more to motherhood than your boobs.

 

[Ladyback1]

. There's a heck of a lot more to motherhood than your boobs.

Isn't that the truth!?

OP, this is just a bump in the road and it seems that you have cleared this bump. Keep moving forward as the wonderful, kind, loving mother that you obviously are!

 

[anearthw]

I'm having a hard time actually seeing the core problems here because there is so much hysteria. I understand it is a sensitive issue but hysteria will not help with solutions.

I'm sorry you went through such an awful experience, I went through something similar with one of my children.

In the future, it is important to recognize that doctors are educated but they are not perfect. If you know something is not right, you knock down various doctor doors and consult multiple lactation consultants in particular if it an issue related to nursing (I'm not seeing where you did, but perhaps you did, it's hard to read what you've written).

Unlike you (who is still living in the moment), it's about 3 years passed for me. All I can say (if I could speak to myself in 2010!) is that it's okay to mourn that you didn't have a good experience with your young baby but do not let that impair your life. It's not always someone else's fault to the degree where they should be hauled into court, sometimes terrible things happen to innocent people like babies.

We are lucky women you know, I'm not sure my 1st child would have survived had he been born in another time or place. I also successfully nursed other children after. Things happen, we learn from it, we move on from it. Work on your future, the past has already happened.