When a baby is admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit following birth, the hours and days that follow are often the most frightening a parent can experience.
Meconium aspiration syndrome is one of the conditions that can bring a newborn into intensive care.
For many families, the understanding that meconium was present in the amniotic fluid during labour and that this may not have been adequately monitored or responded to only comes later, when the acute crisis has passed, and questions begin to form about what happened and whether it was avoidable.
Meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) claims typically arise when medical negligence leads to a failure to diagnose or treat this condition promptly.
MAS occurs when a baby inhales meconium-stained amniotic fluid before, during, or shortly after birth.
If left untreated, MAS can cause serious medical complications, including long-term respiratory issues or irreversible conditions like cerebral palsy.
Our dedicated team specialises in handling meconium aspiration syndrome claims, ensuring your case is managed with care and professionalism to help you secure the justice and support you deserve.
We are here to help you seek the compensation and justice you deserve.
What is meconium aspiration syndrome?
Most cases of meconium aspiration syndrome derive from the fact that the baby suffered some form of foetal distress during labour.
When babies are not getting an adequate supply of blood and oxygen, their bodies are thought to respond to stress by expelling meconium.
Being aware of the complications that can ensue following foetal distress, doctors must carefully monitor the health of the baby during the labour process.
The most important method of monitoring foetal health is believed to be foetal monitoring to identify a complication as soon as possible.
Meconium is the first intestinal discharge from newborns, a viscous, dark-green substance composed of intestinal epithelial cells, lanugo, mucus, and intestinal secretions (bile).
Intrauterine distress can cause the passage of meconium into the amniotic fluid.
Factors that promote the passage of meconium in utero include
- Placental insufficiency
- Maternal hypertension
- Preeclampsia
- Oligohydramnios
- Infection
- Acidosis
- and maternal drug abuse, especially the use of tobacco and cocaine
As noted above, meconium-stained amniotic fluid may be aspirated before or during labour and delivery.
Because meconium is rarely found in the amniotic fluid before 34 weeks of gestation, meconium aspiration primarily affects infants born at term and post-term.
Have you been affected as a result of medical negligence?
- Our team of medical negligence solicitors has over 30 years of collective experience handling cases for those who have suffered due to medical misdiagnosis or medical negligence.
- We are accredited as medical negligence specialists by Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA) and the Law Society of Ireland.
- AvMA, a nonprofit dedicated to patient safety and justice, has given Coleman Legal its seal of approval. Their website provides helpful advice on choosing a specialised solicitor for your medical negligence claim, which may assist you in making your decision.
What are the effects of meconium aspiration?
Most infants with meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) have complete recovery of pulmonary function; however, MAS infants have a slightly increased incidence of respiratory infections in the first year of life because the lungs are still recovering.
The medical staff attending to the birth of your baby must be fully aware of the potential signs of meconium aspiration and be equipped and prepared to handle it quickly and efficiently.
MAS is one of the leading causes of severe birth injuries in newborn babies, and it occurs in about 5 10 % of births.
Severely affected infants have an increased risk of developing reactive airway disease (RAD) in the first 6 months of life.
Reactive airway disease is a group of conditions that generally result in wheezing.
Conditions within this group include asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and viral upper respiratory infections.
Children with meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) may develop chronic lung disease from intense pulmonary intervention or various other long-term neurological issues.
Failure to properly manage meconium aspiration during the birthing process can cause the baby to experience serious health issues, including:
- Central nervous system (CNS) damage,
- Respiratory distress,
- Seizures,
- Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE),
- Cerebral palsy
If your baby has suffered as a result of meconium aspiration syndrome during labour, this is a very traumatic and distressing time for you and your family.
Our medical negligence and birth injury solicitors can discuss your case in confidence with you to see if we can assist you at this difficult time.
The claim process
1. Consult our medical negligence solicitor
It is advisable for you to speak to an experienced team of meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) Solicitors as soon as possible if you believe that you were not provided with an adequate or appropriate level of medical care, which resulted in you sustaining an injury or illness.
2. We obtain your medical records
After the consultation with your medical negligence solicitor, he/she will request access to your medical records and engage an independent medical expert to assess your records.
The purpose of engaging an independent expert is to establish whether there was any negligence on the part of the medical professional.
3. The medical negligence litigation process
Where the independent medical expert is of the professional opinion that medical negligence did occur, upon your instructions, your solicitor will begin the process of issuing legal proceedings in Court against the medical professional and/or hospital.
Statute of Limitation
The legal time limit to make a medical negligence claim is two years from the date of injury or date of knowledge that the injury or illness resulted from medical negligence.
For children/minors, the time limit expires two years after their 18th birthday.
You can contact a solicitor to talk about your case and let you know about the statute of limitations applicable to your case.
Frequently Asked Questions
What standard of care applies in a meconium aspiration syndrome claim?
A meconium aspiration syndrome claim is assessed against the standard established in Dunne v National Maternity Hospital [1989] IR 91, which requires that medical practitioners act in accordance with the general and approved practice of their speciality.
In the obstetric context, this means the obstetrician’s management of labour and delivery must be assessed against the standard of a competent obstetrician; the midwife’s monitoring and documentation must be assessed against the standard applicable to midwifery practice under the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI).
The standard does not demand perfection; it asks whether the care given was within the range that a responsible body of practitioners in the relevant field would have approved.
What does a meconium aspiration syndrome claim investigate?
The investigation focuses on several key questions
- Whether meconium-stained amniotic fluid was identified or should have been identified during labour;
- Whether the CTG (cardiotocograph) trace showed signs of fetal distress that were not responded to appropriately;
- Whether the decision to deliver and the method and timing of delivery were clinically appropriate given the conditions;
- And whether, after birth, the baby’s airway was managed correctly to minimise the amount of meconium inhaled.
An independent obstetric or neonatal expert reviews the records and provides an opinion on whether any of these elements fell below the required standard.
What are the long-term consequences of meconium aspiration syndrome?
The severity of meconium aspiration syndrome varies significantly. In mild cases, the baby recovers fully with supportive treatment and there are no lasting effects.
In more serious cases, the hypoxia (oxygen deprivation) associated with MAS can cause neurological injury, including hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) or, in severe cases, cerebral palsy.
Where the long-term consequences for the child are significant, the value of any claim will reflect the full extent of the child’s needs over their lifetime, including care costs, educational support, and loss of future earning capacity.
These claims require detailed expert evidence from multiple specialists, including paediatric neurologists and care needs experts.
Can a meconium aspiration syndrome claim include compensation for my own experience as a parent?
In Irish law, a person who witnesses a traumatic event and suffers a recognisable psychiatric illness as a result may be able to bring a claim for that injury as a secondary victim.
For parents who were present at a birth where their child suffered serious harm, this may be relevant.
The legal test for secondary victim claims in Ireland is that strict proximity to the event and the nature of the psychiatric injury are both assessed.
Our solicitors can advise on whether a secondary victim claim alongside the primary birth injury claim is appropriate in your circumstances.
What is the limitation period for a meconium aspiration syndrome claim?
For a child who suffered meconium aspiration syndrome at birth, the Statute of Limitations (Amendment) Act 1991 provides that the two-year limitation period does not begin to run until the child reaches the age of 18.
This means the child has until age 20 to bring a claim in their own right.
A parent or guardian may also bring a claim on behalf of the child at any time before that.
However, it is strongly advisable to seek legal advice and begin the investigation as early as possible, while medical records are accessible and the recollections of those involved in the delivery are still relatively fresh.
