GA - Couple sues Hospital, Dr. Tracey St. Julian, and hospital staff for gross negligence after baby decapitated during delivery, July 2023

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IDK said:
That makes sense. Are you thinking the decapitation was done purposely to save the mother’s life, or do you think the doctor did not realize how much force she was exerting? (Sorry to be so graphic, just trying to understand)
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I think we don’t have enough information to know exactly what happened.

But MOO I think it would be unlikely that an OBGYN with 26 years experience would not realize how much force she was exerting. Again, MOO.
 
imstilla.grandma said:
Brian Byars, director of the Clayton County Medical Examiner’s Office, said in an interview on Thursday that the cause of the infant’s death was under investigation. He said he had also requested that state agencies investigate the role of the doctor and nurses in the episode.

In addition to Dr. St. Julian and Southern Regional Medical Center, the lawsuit lists the health group that Dr. St. Julian is a part of, called Premier Women’s Obgyn, and six unnamed nurses as defendants. The suit accuses them of gross negligence, fraud and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Kimberly Golden-Benner, a spokesperson for Southern Regional Medical Center, said in an emailed statement on Thursday that the hospital “denies the allegations of wrongdoing in the complaint.”

The hospital cannot “discuss the care and treatment of specific patients” because of privacy laws, she said, but added, “we can state this unfortunate infant death occurred in utero prior to the delivery and decapitation.”
www.nytimes.com

Infant Was Decapitated During Delivery, Georgia Couple’s Lawsuit Claims

A complaint says an obstetrician used too much force during the delivery and that a hospital had tried to conceal what had happened.
www.nytimes.com www.nytimes.com
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So, the baby had already died when "this" happened? Doesn't mean this kind of thing was in any way justified IMNSHO.
 
Knox said:
Horrific!! I simply don't understand why the doctor was so hell bent on delivering the baby vaginally, when there were clear signs he was stuck and a c-section was the only safe alternative?
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The parents may have wanted to try vaginal, it’s definitely the least expensive, I’ve had 2 Emergency C-sections. What doesn’t make sense is that a sonogram should have revealed the baby’s size which should have required a C-section. He was too big, even after full dilation. I’m confused as to whether the baby died because he was stuck or because of some other medical reason? Morbid question but would he have swollen up like bodies do in water after death and that was why he could not be delivered vaginally? This is one of the most horrifying things I’ve ever read or heard about and I follow true crime. I’m traumatized.
 
IDK said:
From the article you posted, here is the last ditch effort when all else fails:

“Symphysiotomy is only recommended when all other techniques have failed7,27,35,37. In fact, Menticoclou18 states that it should be applied only after 5 minutes if the dystocia has not been solved yet and the other maneuvers, even the Zavanelli, have failed. It has been used as a last resort. It involves the surgical division of the fibrous tissue and cartilage7 of the pubic symphysis7,35,37 in order to increase the pelvic diameters7,35. However, it should be avoided because the separation of the pubic symphysis is not restored and has been related to complications such as bladder, urethral and vaginal injury. These injuries could lead later to urinary incontinence, chronic pelvic pain, and unstable pelvis7,35,37.”

I wonder which maneuvers were attempted— this last one sounds horrible, what a choice to have to make between the baby’s life or those profound injuries to the mother.
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Back in the days before surgical anesthesia made cesarean section on living women a feasible procedure, this was actually not an uncommon procedure. As one could imagine, it wasn't done unless and until the mother was moribund, and she often had permanent issues, usually with walking, because the joint healed very slowly. As a hospital pharmacist, I never saw evidence of this procedure being done, although as an amateur medical historian, I do have old books that had diagrams of how to do it, and one had a picture of a woman in a hammock afterwards.
 
vaporlass said:
The parents may have wanted to try vaginal, it’s definitely the least expensive, I’ve had 2 Emergency C-sections. What doesn’t make sense is that a sonogram should have revealed the baby’s size which should have required a C-section. He was too big, even after full dilation. I’m confused as to whether the baby died because he was stuck or because of some other medical reason? Morbid question but would he have swollen up like bodies do in water after death and that was why he could not be delivered vaginally? This is one of the most horrifying things I’ve ever read or heard about and I follow true crime. I’m traumatized.
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Vaginal birth is also safer, MOST OF THE TIME.
 
DS2021 said:
I know the hospital said the baby died in utero. Would they have been able to notice the lack of heartbeat beforehand?
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A fetal heart monitor would have been in use, so yes.

I would like to know whether the mother had received prenatal care. Even so, shoulder dystocia can occur unexpectedly and would be an emergent situation.

Also, were other family members accompanying the parents during the labor and delivery? Sometimes during extremely stressful situations the patient and partner might not recall everything that was discussed. JMO
 
Devastating as it was, if the baby had already died before the decapitation, it’s more understandable. At least that’s how it appears to me? I really hope that’s what happened.

But why hide it from the parents if it was a completely unavoidable birth injury? Maybe it was best for them not to know all the details? I’m conflicted over that part. JMO.
 
vaporlass said:
The parents may have wanted to try vaginal, it’s definitely the least expensive, I’ve had 2 Emergency C-sections. What doesn’t make sense is that a sonogram should have revealed the baby’s size which should have required a C-section. He was too big, even after full dilation. I’m confused as to whether the baby died because he was stuck or because of some other medical reason? Morbid question but would he have swollen up like bodies do in water after death and that was why he could not be delivered vaginally? This is one of the most horrifying things I’ve ever read or heard about and I follow true crime. I’m traumatized.
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There's a lot of pressure on hospitals and doctors to keep C-section delivery numbers down. A board reviews the numbers and doctors can experience issues with privileges if the numbers are too high. However, the doctor is the one sued if the outcome isn't perfect. There's a lot of politics now that business (insurance companies and business CEO's) runs hospitals. Also, from the doctor's viewpoint, I read on another post that the mom had a previous delivery of a larger firstborn that was uneventful. The mom may have also wanted to attempt vaginal birth first. We just don't know all of the factors at play.
I have never experienced a malevolent OB and from that experience I have never seen anything but OB's and midwives wanting happy and healthy mom and baby's. Many take anything less than perfect outcomes as personal failures. The nurses too are affected by outcomes and hope each mother has a beautiful and perfect delivery of a healthy newborn.
We need more facts. Please bear in mind that my post is all speculation of what I have seen and experienced personally.
And none of this information takes away the pain, grief and horror from the parents.
 
IceIce9 said:
A fetal heart monitor would have been in use, so yes.

I would like to know whether the mother had received prenatal care. Even so, shoulder dystocia can occur unexpectedly and would be an emergent situation.

Also, were other family members accompanying the parents during the labor and delivery? Sometimes during extremely stressful situations the patient and partner might not recall everything that was discussed. JMO
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The mother had been diagnosed with diabetes a year ago, making her pregnancy "high risk."
[at 1:11]
 
vaporlass said:
The parents may have wanted to try vaginal, it’s definitely the least expensive, I’ve had 2 Emergency C-sections. What doesn’t make sense is that a sonogram should have revealed the baby’s size which should have required a C-section. He was too big, even after full dilation. I’m confused as to whether the baby died because he was stuck or because of some other medical reason? Morbid question but would he have swollen up like bodies do in water after death and that was why he could not be delivered vaginally? This is one of the most horrifying things I’ve ever read or heard about and I follow true crime. I’m traumatized.
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BBM
Eleven years ago, My daughter lost her 1st child to stillbirth at 39 weeks gestation due to a placenta infection. (I believe was caused by the DR stripping the membranes 4 days prior - that belief is probably my way of needing a reason for a placenta infection my mind can comprehend. I never voiced that opinion to my daughter or the DR or nursing staff)

Her membranes were stripped on a Monday and Friday at noon she realized she had not felt him move that day. At the hospital they could not find a heartbeat via ultrasound. She was induced around 3 p.m. and delivered him at 7:59 p.m.
He was beautiful - perfect in appearance and weighed 8 lbs. 9 oz.. He was not swollen or puffy. When the nurse was cleaning him up a small patch of skin above his lip and by his eye rubbed off. The Dr said based on how fragile his skin was she would estimate he had passed a minimum of 36 hours prior to delivery. She also said he passed because my daughter smoked during pregnancy - until the lab results came back and showed a placenta infection and then she just said "it happens"

The hospital had the regular newborn pictures taken of him. Naturally the pictures were difficult for my daughter to look at and she was especially upset about the areas where his skin had rubbed off. I found someone online that could touch up photos and she did a remarkable job of covering those areas and we all have his picture on display. In fact, when my daughter married 6 years later, in one of her wedding photos she is holding his picture.

A local funeral home offered free cremation for stillbirths and about 2 weeks later I went to pick him up. My daughter had purchased a Precious Moments block shaped urn for his ashes - personalized with his name and birthdate. Eleven years later, if she is going to be away from her home overnight, she takes him with her.
 
Ray_of_hope said:
There's a lot of pressure on hospitals and doctors to keep C-section delivery numbers down. A board reviews the numbers and doctors can experience issues with privileges if the numbers are too high. However, the doctor is the one sued if the outcome isn't perfect. There's a lot of politics now that business (insurance companies and business CEO's) runs hospitals. Also, from the doctor's viewpoint, I read on another post that the mom had a previous delivery of a larger firstborn that was uneventful. The mom may have also wanted to attempt vaginal birth first. We just don't know all of the factors at play.
I have never experienced a malevolent OB and from that experience I have never seen anything but OB's and midwives wanting happy and healthy mom and baby's. Many take anything less than perfect outcomes as personal failures. The nurses too are affected by outcomes and hope each mother has a beautiful and perfect delivery of a healthy newborn.
We need more facts. Please bear in mind that my post is all speculation of what I have seen and experienced personally.
And none of this information takes away the pain, grief and horror from the parents.
Click to expand...
The issue is UNNECESSARY c-sections. There are women who think they want them for any number of reasons, and doctors who will accommodate that request. (The hospital I used to work at was investigated by the ACOG because of their extremely high c-section rate; this was skewed upwards by an OB/GYN who would indeed do them on patient request. By all accounts, he was a wonderful gynecologist, but you wouldn't want him for your OB. The "was" is deliberate because he is now deceased.)

Over the years, I have heard far and away more horror stories about women OB/GYNs than male ones. YMMV, of course.
 
pkbnews.in

Fact check: Is Tracey st julian fired? Lawsuit alleges decapitation of baby during birth

Is Tracey St Julian Fired: Lawsuit alleges decapitation of baby during birth. Her proficiency in handling difficult medical circumstances has been greatly aided
pkbnews.in pkbnews.in

Interesting background information on the physician in this case, she served in the military. And has extensive experience in obstetrics.

I wonder though, if she has a bias against C-section births, and that is why this turned out to be such a disaster. It seems to me, that once the baby presented in a formation that appeared to be difficult for a vaginal birth, a C-section should have been considered immediately, rather than a complicated vaginal birth.
 
ilovewings said:
I have never heard of a c section and vag delivery- why wasn't the entire birth done by C section? that is just one question---
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Vaginal deliveries that result in complications are switched to a C-section. Having a C-section with one birth increases risk for future vaginal births. It is possible, especially as medical technology has advanced, but it's higher risk. So vaginal delivery is favored and only switched if (a) woman has had prior C-section and/or (b) there's a complication.
 
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