Videotaping Births Raises Legal Dilemmas

— -- As Mom-to-be labored away, happy chatter filled the Houston delivery room. The husband, mother and sister of the expectant mother kept her company while recording the event for posterity — narration and all — with an amateur video camera.

But the video camera captured more than anyone had expected.

During labor, the umbilical cord became wrapped around the infant’s neck and cut oxygen to the brain. Although cord complications are common, the family’s video, the fetal heart monitor strip and a nurse’s taped deposition show the medical staff failed to recognize or relieve the infant’s distress.

The baby fought a fierce struggle to survive: Her heart rate sank to about 60 beats per minute, less than half the norm, for about 10 minutes. For more than 40 minutes until delivery, her pulse wildly fluctuated.

The results were devastating. Although the girl survived, she is blind and irreversibly brain damaged.

The tape eventually became Exhibit A in a multi-million dollar lawsuit and prompted the hospital to ban cameras from delivery rooms.When faced with the evidence, the hospital settled out of court last June for $15 million — the largest known payoff for a botched delivery. The hospital also changed its policy: No cameras allowed.

As no-taping policies become more common in hospitals across the country, the Houston case highlights an emotional struggle between patients’ wishes and doctors’ efforts to protect themselves from costly litigation.

The Best Intentions

As part of the deal, the Houston family members agreed not to identify themselves or speak publicly about the case. Their attorney can speak to reporters only if they agree not to reveal the identities of the parties.

“[The tape] is scary to watch,” says attorney Richard Mithoff. “That’s why they paid such an enormous amount of money to keep this out of the light of the courtroom.”

Horror stories like the one from Houston seem to have had an impact on doctors' feelings about video cameras in their delivery rooms.