Opinion ID: 146762
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Dr. Crawford's Credentials

Text: Dr. Carolyn Crawford is a specialist in pediatrics and neonatal and perinatal medicine. The pretrial order specified that the plaintiffs would call her as an expert in neonatology regarding her review of the pertinent records, the standards of care within her field of expertise applicable to this case, the defendants' departures from such standards, about [G.P.P.'s] condition and the causal relationship between said condition and the defendants' departures. Upon Ramírez-González's motion, the parties conducted a Daubert inquiry outside the presence of the jury into Dr. Crawford's credentials. See Daubert, 509 U.S. 579, 113 S.Ct. 2786, 125 L.Ed.2d 469. At that hearing, Dr. Crawford was asked to elaborate on her qualifications, which we summarize here. After obtaining her medical degree, Dr. Crawford completed a pediatric residency followed by a fellowship in neonatal-perinatal medicine. She is board certified in neonatal-perinatal medicine. As a specialist in neonatal-perinatal medicine, Dr. Crawford deals with problems during pregnancy, labor, and delivery that [a]ffect [the baby]. She served for several years as the medical director of the Southern New Jersey Perinatal Cooperative. In that role, she developed a statewide educational program called Perinatal Emergencies. Her team presented a standard of care, that is the appropriate thing to do in such a situation. For instance, with fetal monitoring, that when uterine hyper stimulation occurs, that you did a number of things. You turn off the Pitocin. You give fluids, oxygen, change position. Subsequently, we recommended that [terbutaline], which is a uterine relaxation drug, be considered to relax the uterus, allow better blood flow and oxygen to the fetus; and that the patient be evaluated for a timely delivery. Dr. Crawford has written chapters for several published medical books. Most relevantly, she authored a chapter on fetal asphyxia, which covers the administration of Pitocin, and a chapter entitled, Differential Diagnosis of Respiratory Distress, which was intended to help physicians understand when they have a baby that wasn't breathing or a baby that had breathing problems how to differentiate what the cause of those were. Although Dr. Crawford does not perform c-sections, she has served as a consultant in high-risk deliveries and set the wheels in motion when she determined that a c-section was indicated. Thus, she can identify the problems and prepare the patient. She has been trained to identify ominous patterns on a fetal monitor and to evaluate whether the patient is likely to be able to deliver quickly vaginally or whether a cesarean section will be needed. She also conducts peer review evaluations of unexpected outcomes after delivery. Such review involves taking into account the obstetrical care, the obstetrical nursing care, the delivery care, the neonatal management. Dr. Crawford has previously been qualified to testify on departures from the standard of care in obstetrics in both state and federal cases.