First 30 Days checklist

Week 1: ask, and write it down

• Ask the team what they think happened, and when. Ask them to write the main points down.
• Ask what tests have been done and what they showed.
• Ask what they are watching for over the next few days.
• Ask whether the placenta was sent to pathology, and request that report. ⁴
• Ask what the cord blood gas results were, and write down the actual numbers.
• Write down what you remember about the labor, hour by hour.
• Start a binder with tabs for contacts, daily log, questions, medicines and results.

What I was told, and by whom

Week 2: request the records

• Request the mother's records. ²
• Request the baby's records, separately.
• Request from every facility, including prenatal care and any hospital your baby was transferred to.
• Name the fetal monitoring archive, the anesthesia record, the resuscitation record and the placental pathology report. They are stored separately.
• Ask for the fee in writing before they start. A search or retrieval fee is not permitted. ²
• Keep a dated copy of everything you send.

Date requested / facility / date they must respond by

Week 3: get therapy started

• Refer your child to early intervention if they are under 3. You can do this yourself. ¹
• Or write to your school district if they are 3 or over. ⁵
• Write down the referral date. The 45 day timeline starts then. ¹
• Ask for a hearing assessment if your baby was in the NICU, had jaundice, or had an infection. ⁶
• Ask whether developmental follow-up has been arranged. ⁷

Referral date / who I spoke to / what they said

Week 4: money, deadlines and your own health

• Apply for your state's Medicaid waiver, and ask to be added to any waiting list today. ³
• Apply for SSI, even if you expect to be turned down. ⁸
• Ask whether your state has TEFRA or Katie Beckett. ⁹
• Open an ABLE account. ¹⁰
• Contact your Family-to-Family Health Information Center. ¹¹
• Find out your filing deadline from an attorney licensed in your state. ¹²
• Book your own postpartum follow-up. ¹³
• Tell someone if you are struggling. 1-833-TLC-MAMA is free and open at all hours. ¹⁴

Applications made / date / reference number

What can wait

None of this has to happen in the first month.

• Deciding whether to talk to an attorney. Get the records first.
• Reading the whole record. You will read it better later.
• Researching every possible diagnosis.
• Decisions about school.
• Answering relatives.

Getting the records is not the same as deciding to sue. They are your child's medical history and you will need them for years, whatever else you decide. ²