birth with shoulder dystocia

1978sr · Mar 10, 2009 6:08AM

hi
my big boy(10lb 6oz) got stuck during the birth. His head was delivered 5 minutes before he was born. It was called shoulder dystocia its where he gets his shoulders stuck. as a result his chest was being crushed and as he had gasped for air he was then un able to breath. they had to cut me to be able to get him out. Basically when they cut me they said it was so they could see where he was stuck and maybe release him. luckily this is what happened and he was born and revived and sent straight to ICU with a very low survival chance. after 12 hours he pulled all his tubes out and started breathing on his own.

If That sound bad i was told that it could have been a lot worse.
If he didnt come out when he did they would have broken his collar bone to collapse his shoulders so he could come out.
If that didnt work they would have put me under and pushed him back in with a chance of drowning and losing me too.

All i really remeber about the whole thing is pushing like i had never pushed before in panic more than any thing, then the midwife pushing the panic button and loads of people coming out of no where. doctors surgeon, midwifes, nurses, incubator, resusiter( cos there wasnt one in my room as i was in a pre labour asesment room as delivery suit was over ful)
I kept saying he is stuck he is not coming out. Then they said they will have to cut me. so i asked for a local and they said no sorry - got the scissors and just snipped(my husband was nearly sick at this point)

my husband thought he was going to loose both of us. and i just kept saying is he alright but nobody would say anything. even 3/4 weeks afterward i had a bruise on my stomach and internally on my stomach where one midwife was physically trying to push him out

He is fine now other than having a dairy allergy. He is fit and well.

I keep thinking about it and thinking what if? I know i shouldnt but i do. any one else had the same problems at birth. apparently it vary rare.

hayley_l · Feb 9, 2009 2:39PM

Hi hun, I know what you are going through. My daughter is 9 now and when she was born she was 10lb 12oz, at all of my ante natal appointments I was told she would be no more than 8lb, although I knew she would be big becuase my first born was 9lb 10oz, I have since been told that I should have had growth scans and been monitored more. When she ws born the labour was very quick but as her head came out the cord was tight round her neck and the m/w could not loop it over her head so had to cut it before she was completely born, by then they realised that her shoulders were stuck and basically I was pushing with strength I never knew I had whilst they were pulling, luckily they didnt dislocate her shoulder and thankfully she was born when she was as pushing her back was not an option as the cord had been cut. She was floppy at birth and scored 2 on her apgar score at 1 min, we so nearly lost her. Thankfully she is fine and has no ill effects but I still have flashbacks to her birth and what could have happened, admittingly they are few and far between now but I still find it sad that I have 4 children and hers is the only birth I look back on and it makes me cry and feel sick.

Try to get some counselling as it may help you to work your feelings and fears out.

Take care xx

1978sr · Feb 9, 2009 2:50PM

He was given a 2 at 1 apgar also. 4 at 5 and 8 at 10 but he did great. he was 10lb 6oz but i was measuring 4 weeks bigger than i should have been. When i gave birth i was 41 weeks but showing nearly 44 weeks and they still wouldnt induce me knowing my history of big babies.

arg · Feb 9, 2009 3:03PM

I haven't had one but have always been scared that I would with 3 big babies.
I agree with Hayley, I think it would really help if you could speak to your health visitor or gp and get some counselling.

Deli3 · Feb 14, 2009 10:17AM

Oh thats an awful thing to happen. Unfortuanately it happens way to often. A friend of mine had this and her baby is paarlysed down one side and has no use of one arm and only partial of that leg. She shuffles around and is doing great in all other respects but it should never have happened. people critisise the rise in c sections but the thing is there has been a huge dip in neonatal deaths.

I think it sounds like you were incredibley brave and you both were lucky to come away well. I agree you need some counselling and to have a birth review to see what went wrong and why. Also, you need it on your records so that your next baby can be induced early or a c section

Hope you get well soon

d xxx

mumma22beauboys · Mar 10, 2009 6:08AM

hey shelleryder i went thru the same thing but rory was only 7lb 10 the trouble was he never stopped moving thru the whole labour untill his head was out was a wriggler! but he tried to breath which stressed him out and he had merconium on his mouth, and i us had tp push him out i was lucky i managed it with only a 1st degree tear, but rory had to be resusitated and went into bad shock were he then stayed in scbu for a week, but it is so scary and i cant stop thinking about it. it has scare me so much that i have really been put off having other children, and because he was breathing fr 4 minutes i always worry that even now he will stop breathing i think it does knock your confidence, most scary thing to experience!

xxx

birth with shoulder dystocia

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