Pregnancy brings with it the risk of complications several of which can, if not detected and treated promptly, lead to substantial harm to the baby and the mother. An umbilical cord compression is an especially serious risk to the unborn child. This problem arises when undue pressure is placed on the umbilical cord. Circumstances under which this appears include when the cord slips into the birth canal and gets compressed as the baby descends, or when the umbilical cords becomes wrapped around the baby’s neck . As the pressure on the cord rises, the oxygen necessary for the health and even the survival of the unborn child becomes more and more restricted.

A cord compression often appears as a slowing down of the baby’s heart rate. This is specially true if the heart rate slows downs in waves or episodes - a pattern that is called decelerations. Because an unborn baby cannot survive long without suffering a severe brain injury or even dying, the necessary supply of oxygen needs to be restored right away. If the compression is not significant then repositioning the mother to decrease pressure on the cord, or giving her oxygen and fluids, might alleviate the problem. In those circumstances where these methods do not reduce the pressure on the cord, it may become necessary to perform an emergency C-section.

By not timely detecting a cord compression and taking the correct action immediately a physician or nurse might be responsible for a delay that results in severe harm or even the death of the baby. When this takes place that doctor or nurse might be liable. In one documented lawsuit, an expectant mother, at full term, showed up at the hospital for the planned delivery of her baby. The staff used Pitocin to induce labor. Following the administration of the drug, the fetal heart rate monitor revealed several umbilical cord compressions as decelerations of the unborn baby’s heart rate. The staff repositioned the woman after which the baby’s heart rate went back to normal.

At one point, the mother had to use the bathroom at which point the obstetrics resident disconnected her from the fetal heart rate monitor. The monitor remained disconnected for a total of 11 minutes. During this period, the cord was compressed and the baby's supply of oxygen was badly restricted. As a result, the baby experienced from asphyxia which left the baby with mental retardation and with cerebral palsy.

The law firm which helped the family introduced evidence at trial that, given the history of decelerations, disconnecting the fetal heart rate monitor for those crucial 11 minutes was below the acceptable standard of care. Essentially, it came with too high a risk that there would be further umbilical cord compressions that would not be discovered and thus would not, and indeed did not, lead to the application of additional procedures like additional position changes and, if required, an emergency C-section that could have kept the child from sustaining brain damage. The law firm reported that the jury returned a verdict of $15.8 million for the family.