Legal Briefs: In Utero Cerebral Hemorrhage and Alloimmune Thrombocytopenia: Was It Preventable?

A 3,425-g, 39-week-gestation male infant was born to a 24-year-old gravida 1 para 0 woman via cesarean section because of a nonreassuring fetal heart rate tracing. Apgar scores were 9 and 9 at 1 and 5 minutes, respectively. He was admitted to the normal newborn nursery, where the nurse noted that he had generalized petechiae. The complete blood cell count was normal, except for a platelet count of 7 × 10³/μL (7 × 10⁹/L). He was admitted to the NICU at 27 hours of age for evaluation and care. He was alert and active, with normal blood pressure and vital signs. The neonatologist ruled out autoimmune thromobocytopenia after determining that the mother's platelet count was normal. He asked the obstetrician to order an antiplatelet antibody test on the mother to determine if alloimmune thrombocytopenia was the diagnosis. Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) was given, as well as 2...