Nicole Caton, DO

If I could give zero stars I would. I realize that accidents happen but this one could have been avoided and there were SO MANY warning signs.... Let me start off by saying that I am absolutely heartbroken and disgusted with this physician and the radiology tech (or whomever does ultrasounds for her). When a patient states that their baby is moving less, the Doctor should immediately order an NST not just dopple a fetal heart rate and tell them it's in normal range nor should the doctor EVER tell a patient "it's just because they're getting ready for labor." Which is exactly what Dr.Caton told one of her patients. Fast forward to the next doctor's appointment where the patient is getting an ultrasound making sure baby is in cephalic position (head down) and how much the baby is weighing for the planned elective induction..... (where when the doctor talked the patient into doing a 39week and 0day elective induction she educated the patient on the risks of going over 40 weeks however… NEVER discussed the potential risk of being electively induced... but this is beside the point of my review) when this patient was receiving the ultrasound the baby's heart rate was below normal range (normal fetal heart rate is 110- 160) the US tech proceeded to push on this patient's stomach multiple times and stated "we need to get his heart rate higher" once the baby's heart rate reached 120 the US tech said looks good! The mother did question the 120 and the ultrasound tech told her "it's within normal range, it's good"...... when a baby is having a current decel or bradycardia you do NOT perform any type of stimulation to make it rise to make it "within normal limits" to say the baby is fine... NOW, if the US tech reported this to the doctor and the doctor ordered an NST (which takes a MINIMUM of 20 minutes, unless the baby is in danger it can take even LESS time) they more than likely would have noticed this sweet baby was having decels and they could have had an emergency C-section and delivered a healthy baby.... However, that did NOT happen and the baby DIED in utero less than 12 hours later..... I genuinely pray that Dr. Caton sees this review and is more thorough on her patient education and LISTENS to her patients when they state that their baby is not moving as much and educates her staff on proper use of an ultrasound and to REPORT to her when there is something ABNORMAL. I also pray that this ultrasound tech realizes that it is NOT okay to palpate(or push) on a pregnant mother's stomach to increase a baby's heart rate... AND actually I hope this ultrasound tech is fired because I know they are trained on what is within and what is NOT within their scope of practice. AND pushing on a pregnant mother's stomach to increase a fetal heart rate is DEFINITELY NOT in their scope of practice. I also pray that this review is seen by past, present and future patients and that when they don't feel like something is right that they stick to their ground and advocate for further education, explanation and further testing whether it's with this physician or any physician!! This FULL-TERM fetal DEATH was completely avoidable!!!!!! If only these two professionals would have done their job properly. If they took precautionary measures we would be holding a beautiful, healthy and LIVING baby.