Shoulder Dystocia creates the potential for traumatic and at time catastrophic injury to the baby as the fetus makes its way from In-Utero life through birth. When infants do survive this tragedy, they are often left with injury to the nerves or at times the brain. The goal of the obstetrical management of these deliveries is ANTICIPATION AND PREPARATION. The best way to protect mother and baby from complications from shoulder dystocia is to prevent it from occurring in the first place.
What Is Shoulder Dystocia?
The fetal chest grows at a steady rate during the last trimester of pregnancy. After the 35th week of gestation it becomes even larger then the infant’s head. The problem in SHOULDER DYSTOCIA is that after the baby’s head comes through the birth canal, its shoulders become trapped. This is sometimes referred to in obstetrics as an Impacted Shoulder. As a large baby goes through a relatively small birth canal, the baby’s shoulders must turn (rotate) as it navigates its way through the birth canal. If, because of a number of different factors, such as size, this does not occur, the baby cannot come through the canal and is caught between the two worlds. If this is allowed to occur or the physicians do not act immediately and correctly; injury to the babe’s nerves, the brain or even death will result.
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