Olivia Marie Coats, an infant who died due to complications during a difficult delivery, was recently laid to rest by her family last weekend. The baby was born on Dec. 28 at the Medical Center of Southeast Texas in Port Arthur, Texas. Due to problems during the cesarean section delivery of the baby, the doctor handling the case used a pair of forceps to assist in the operation. However, the family believes that the use of forceps injured the baby resulting in her death. After the delivery, Olivia was transferred to the Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston.
Olivia was injured but she lived for five more days in the hospital before finally passing away on Jan. 2 this year. According to Olivia's family, the doctor may have crushed the baby's skull during the procedure, which could also have resulted in brain death.
When Olivia passed away, the family released a statement that she died of "a fractured skull and severed spinal cord. " The baby's parents Rachel Melancon and Allen Coats are currently considering taking legal action against Dr. George T. Backardjiev, the doctor who was in charge of the delivery operation.
"We're not mad at hospital [sic], this is not their fault. It is one man's fault," says the baby's grandmother Angie Coats in a statement to ABC News. "We only want justice for Olivia; we want the person responsible, which is the doctor. We don't want the hospital being shunned. The hospital is great. The nurses were wonderful. It's not their fault."
The family said that they requested an earlier cesarean operation but Dr. Backardjiev allegedly counseled against it due to the fact that it would leave a large scar on the mother's belly. When the delivery began, the doctor then took a pair of forceps to attempt to pull the baby out. After numerous attempts, however, the doctor allegedly "touched the side of the skull" says Angie. "We hear a pop, like clay cracking in pottery and heard her skull crush."
Following the incident, Olivia's family has started a call to arms on Facebook to fight against the use of forceps during childbirth. In addition to the Facebook campaign, the family is also considering to campaign for the passing of a proposed law called "The Olivia Law." If passed, the proposed law will make it illegal for doctors to use forceps during any type of childbirth.
