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Bringing a child into the world should be a moment of joy and relief. Parents trust their doctors and nurses to provide safe and skilled care throughout pregnancy, labor, and delivery. But when errors are made, the consequences can be devastating. One of the most serious preventable complications during childbirth is perinatal asphyxia, a condition where a baby is deprived of oxygen before, during, or shortly after birth.
If not recognized and treated immediately, asphyxia can cause permanent brain damage, organ failure, or even death. At Snyder & Wenner, P.C., we help families throughout Arizona, including Phoenix, Tucson, Flagstaff, Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler, and Glendale, understand their legal rights when medical negligence leads to such catastrophic injuries. Our mission is simple: to hold hospitals accountable and secure the resources your child needs for the best possible future.
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Perinatal asphyxia occurs when a baby does not receive enough oxygen before, during, or after birth. In medical terms, this is known as hypoxia (low oxygen levels) or anoxia (complete absence of oxygen). The lack of oxygen disrupts blood flow and prevents vital organs—including the brain, heart, kidneys, and lungs—from functioning properly.
While some cases of asphyxia happen despite proper care, many are entirely preventable if doctors and nurses act quickly and follow established standards of care.
There is no single cause of perinatal asphyxia—it often results from a chain of events that interrupts the baby’s oxygen supply. Some causes occur during pregnancy, while others develop suddenly during labor or delivery. Understanding these risk factors is essential for spotting negligence.
Conditions in the mother can reduce oxygen flow to the baby. Severe preeclampsia, eclampsia, maternal infection, or a sudden drop in blood pressure may leave the fetus vulnerable. In high-risk pregnancies, doctors must monitor closely and be prepared to intervene quickly.
The umbilical cord is the baby’s lifeline, delivering oxygen and nutrients from the placenta. If the cord becomes compressed, prolapses (slips into the birth canal before the baby), or wraps tightly around the baby’s neck (nuchal cord), oxygen supply can drop instantly. Continuous fetal monitoring usually detects these emergencies, but a delayed response can be fatal.
When labor stalls or the baby remains in the birth canal too long, oxygen flow may be compromised. Prolonged compression of the head and cord, especially during difficult deliveries, can trigger hypoxia. Proper labor management—including monitoring contraction strength, labor progression, and fetal heart rate—can prevent this.
The placenta must remain firmly attached and functional until delivery. If it abrupts (separates too early), tears, or suffers from insufficiency (inability to deliver oxygen effectively), the baby is at extreme risk. Placental problems often require emergency C-section to prevent oxygen deprivation.
Doctors may also cause or worsen asphyxia through errors during delivery: failing to order a timely C-section, misusing forceps or vacuum extractors, or prolonging delivery unnecessarily.
Asphyxia doesn’t always stop at delivery. Some infants experience oxygen deprivation after birth due to respiratory failure, infection, pneumonia, or inadequate resuscitation efforts. Hospitals are obligated to have trained neonatal resuscitation teams present at every birth to prevent these outcomes.
The effects of untreated perinatal asphyxia can be profound, impacting nearly every part of a child’s body and future development. The brain and central nervous system are the most vulnerable, but oxygen deprivation also damages other organs.
The brain consumes more oxygen than any other organ. When deprived, even for a few minutes, the risk of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) increases dramatically. HIE is a leading cause of:
These conditions are often permanent, requiring lifelong therapy, medications, and accommodations.
Other organs can also sustain lasting injury:
Liver and gastrointestinal system: Organ failure may occur in severe cases.
Tragically, severe asphyxia can result in neonatal death, either immediately after birth or in the days following. For families, the emotional toll is immeasurable, compounded by the knowledge that proper care might have prevented the outcome.
The lifetime cost of caring for a child with severe asphyxia-related disabilities often exceeds tens of millions of dollars. Beyond financial strain, families must cope with emotional distress, caregiver burnout, and the ongoing grief of watching their child struggle with preventable conditions.
The most frustrating truth about perinatal asphyxia is that many cases are preventable. Hospitals and medical professionals have the training, tools, and protocols needed to protect newborns—when they are used properly.
When these steps are followed, the majority of birth-related asphyxia injuries can be avoided. When they are not, and families are left to deal with preventable harm, accountability is essential.
Not every case of asphyxia is malpractice. However, negligence likely exists if:
At Snyder & Wenner, P.C., we work with leading medical experts nationwide to carefully review records, monitoring strips, and hospital protocols to determine whether standards of care were followed. If negligence is proven, families may be entitled to significant compensation.
Asphyxia birth injury claims require a careful review of what happened before, during, and shortly after delivery. At Snyder & Wenner, P.C., our case review process includes input from our in-house medical provider with OB nursing experience who helps our attorneys analyze labor and delivery records from a clinical perspective.
This background is especially valuable in asphyxia cases because key warning signs may appear in fetal monitoring strips, nursing notes, delivery timelines, newborn records, and post-birth resuscitation records. By reviewing these details with medical insight from the start, our team can better understand whether signs of oxygen deprivation were recognized, whether action was taken in time, and what questions require additional medical review.
Our firm also works with outside medical consultants when needed to evaluate the accepted standards of care, the cause of the child’s injury, and the long-term needs of the child and family.
Birth injury cases are highly complex, requiring both medical and legal expertise. Our process includes:
We gather medical records, interview staff, and consult neonatal experts.
We retain leading specialists in obstetrics, neonatology, and neurology to explain how negligence occurred.
We work with life-care planners and economists to calculate the cost of a child’s lifetime needs.
We pursue fair settlements but prepare every case as though it will go to trial.
Arizona law imposes strict statutes of limitation for medical malpractice claims, so it is essential to contact an attorney as soon as you suspect negligence played a role.
Compensation in asphyxia cases is intended to provide the resources your child needs for the best possible future. This may include:
For more than 40 years, Snyder & Wenner has been one of Arizona’s premier medical malpractice law firms. Families choose us because:
If your child suffered brain damage, organ injury, or death due to oxygen deprivation at birth, you deserve answers. Let Snyder & Wenner, P.C. investigate your case, explain your options, and fight for the justice your family deserves.
Call us today at (602) 224-0005 to schedule a free, confidential consultation with an experienced Arizona birth injury lawyer.
Birth asphyxia occurs when the baby is not able to get enough oxygen during the birth process. That can be before birth, during birth, or after birth. Unlike adults, babies are not able to hold their breaths for long periods of time. If the baby is deprived of oxygen, it can result in chemical changes in his or her body. This can include hypoxemia (low oxygen levels in the baby’s blood) and acidosis (when the baby has too much acid built up in his or her blood). These conditions typically result in significant brain damage.
There are several ways to diagnose asphyxia. First, when the baby is not getting enough oxygen, he or she will become distressed. This distress can be seen on the fetal monitor strips and is an indication that the baby must be delivered right away. The baby’s blood can also be tested for the acid levels. If the number is too high, that is a near certain diagnosis of poor oxygenation. Blood tests can also be ordered to determine if the baby’s liver, heart, or kidneys have been affected by lack of oxygen. Finally, after the baby is born the nurses document the APGAR scores. These scores rate how active and normal the baby is. APGAR scores are subjective, so their results are less important and diagnostic than the blood gases. If the APGAR scores are low, though, it may indicate that the baby was deprived of oxygen for a period of time during birth.
To prove that medical malpractice was a cause of the asphyxia, a medical malpractice lawyer must review the records to see if there were warning signs that the baby was not getting sufficient oxygen. Experts then must be hired to review the records from the perspective of their specialty (neonatology, OBGYN, neurology, etc) to reach the medical conclusion that the asphyxia was a cause of the baby’s injuries.
Most times, asphyxia results in fetal distress. This is visible on the fetal monitor strips. If distress is seen, the baby must be delivered right away. Delivery can occur vaginally or by c-section, but if vaginal birth will take more than a few minutes, a c-section must be initiated right away. Every second counts since the baby is not getting enough oxygen to his or her brain and is unable to compensate for that loss. If the nurses and doctors act appropriately and get the baby delivered in a timely and safe manner, the brain injury is most often times completely preventable.
