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Fetal monitoring is used in delivery rooms across the country to track how a baby is doing during labor. It records the baby’s heart rate and how the baby responds before, during, and after contractions.
When doctors and nurses monitor correctly, they may recognize when a baby is in distress. However, when they miss warning signs or wait too long to act, a baby can suffer a preventable birth injury.
At the Birth Injury Justice Center, we help families understand whether mistakes during childbirth may have played a role in their child’s injury.
Our registered nurses can review your child’s birth records and look for signs that the medical team failed to respond when your baby was in distress. Connect with us right now.
What Fetal Monitoring Shows During Labor
Electronic fetal monitoring creates a record of the baby’s heart rate during labor. This record is often called a fetal heart tracing or fetal monitoring strip.
Fetal monitoring strips can show:
- How the baby’s heart rate changed during labor
- How the baby responded to contractions
- Whether the baby showed signs of distress
- Whether the care team acted when warning signs appeared
This strip becomes part of the medical record. In many birth injury lawsuits, it is one of the most important pieces of evidence.
When Fetal Heart Tracings Become Concerning
A fetal heart tracing can change during labor, which is why doctors and nurses must keep watching it closely. Fetal heart rate tracings are usually grouped into 3 categories.
- Category I is generally normal.
- Category II means the baby may need monitoring and further evaluation.
- Category III is abnormal and can mean the baby is not getting enough oxygen.
Category III tracings require prompt evaluation and intervention, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).
If the baby’s heart rate pattern does not improve, the medical team may need to move quickly. This can include ordering an emergency C-section.
How Fetal Monitoring Errors Can Cause Birth Injuries
Lawsuits involving fetal monitoring errors often focus on whether doctors or nurses failed to recognize and respond to signs of fetal distress.
Common failures may include:
- Delaying an emergency C-section
- Failing to alert the attending doctor
- Ignoring repeated heart rate drops
- Missing a worsening tracing
These medical mistakes can be serious. If a baby is not getting enough oxygen during labor, every minute can count.
Birth Injuries Linked to Missed Fetal Distress
When fetal distress is missed or ignored, a baby may suffer a serious injury before delivery.
These injuries may include:
HIE is a type of brain injury that can happen when a baby does not get enough oxygen or blood flow. Some babies with HIE later develop cerebral palsy or other lifelong disabilities.
A 2025 study in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology found that nearly 1 in 4 cases of HIE studied may have benefited from preventive steps during labor.
The Fetal Monitoring Strip May Show What Happened
For families, the key question is often not whether a fetal monitor was used. It is whether the strip showed warning signs and whether the care team acted in time.
The fetal monitoring strip may show:
- When distress first appeared
- How long the distress continued
- Whether the baby recovered between contractions
- Whether the care team escalated care
- Whether a C-section should have happened sooner
It may also show whether medications such as Pitocin® contributed to fetal stress. Pitocin is sometimes used to start or strengthen contractions, but it must be carefully monitored because strong or frequent contractions can affect how much oxygen the baby receives.
Recent Birth Injury Lawsuits
Birth injury settlements and trial verdicts show how serious fetal monitoring errors can be.
In a 2025 Utah lawsuit verdict, the court awarded $951 million in a birth injury case involving allegations that nurses failed to recognize and respond to fetal distress. The baby suffered HIE and lifelong disabilities.
A family who filed a Michigan lawsuit was awarded $120 million in 2024 after a delayed C-section allegedly caused severe brain damage and cerebral palsy.
These results do not predict the value of any individual case. Every birth injury lawsuit depends on the medical records, the child’s injury, and the facts of what happened during labor and delivery.
However, these cases show why families should not ignore concerns about missed fetal distress. When a child has HIE, cerebral palsy, brain damage, or lifelong care needs, the emotional, medical, and financial consequences can be overwhelming.
Get Legal Help Now
Many parents leave the delivery room knowing something went wrong, even if they do not yet know what to call it. They may remember being told that the baby’s heart rate dropped, that an emergency C-section was needed, or that their baby had oxygen loss.
You do not need to know exactly what went wrong or whether malpractice occurred before asking for help.
At the Birth Injury Justice Center, our registered nurses have decades of advanced experience in labor and delivery. They can review birth records at no cost and help families understand whether medical errors may have caused or contributed to a child’s injury.
If your child suffered a serious birth injury and something about labor or delivery does not feel right, we may be able to help.
Call us at (800) 914-1562 for immediate assistance or get a free case review now.
