Birth Injury Glossary

- A condition in which the fetus experiences an extreme lack of oxygen, resulting in hypoxia. Often occurs a result of compression of the umbilical cord.

- Electronic monitoring performed during pregnancy, labor and delivery to keep track of the fetus’s heart rate. The procedure can be done with monitors outside the body (external monitoring), or in the uterus (internal monitoring).

- A condition in which the fetus experiences a severe deprivation of oxygen. Possible causes include inadequate placental function (see “abruptio placentae”), compression of the umbilical cord, and complications from anesthesia.

- A condition characterized by increased levels of plasma in the fetus’s blood. FIRS could be an indicator of future development of cerebral palsy.

- A test used to measure the number of fetal red blood cells in a pregnant woman’s blood. The test checks to see if the baby and mother are “Rh incompatible”. Rh incompatibility occurs when the fetus has Rh - positive blood and the pregnant woman has Rh-negative blood. If a mother and baby are Rh incompatible, the mother’s body is producing antibodies that could harm the fetus’s red blood cells. Treatment of Rh incompatibility is usually very effective, due to a special injection called “RhoGAM.”.

- Fontanelles are the soft spots on an infant's head where the bony plates that make up the skull have not yet come together. Fontanelles that are abnormally large may indicate a medical condition.

- The base of an organ, or the part farthest away from its opening. Examples include: the lower back part of the bladder, the part of the eye opposite the pupil, and the large upper end of the uterus.

- A surgical instrument resembling a pair of pincers or tongs, used for grasping and extracting during delivery.