A Broken Collarbone? Anyone else?

Jalynn06

I learned today during my daughters 2 week check up that she suffered a broken left collarbone as a result of her delivery.  It was not detected until today when her pediatrician noticed a lump on her collarbone.  I had noticed the last week or so that she would cry out when I put her over my shoulder to burp, but figured it was belly pain from her being constipated. They told me to be gentle with her arm & shoulder and it should be fully healed in 6-9 months. Has anyone else's baby suffered this before and how well did they recover from it?

*wicket*

Ouch!  I'm so sorry.

This is exactly why my OB strongly suggested a c/s for me.  The day before my c/s (at 39 weeks), DS's shoulders measured 41 weeks.  My OB was afraid that if I went for a vaginal delivery, DS would get stuck and break his collarbone. 

jewels_025

Awww im so sorry. Thats terrible , but at least it was caught now...best of luck

jdouglas84

My midwife thought my DD's collarbone broke during delivery because she thought she heard a "pop", but it turned out she was okay. I was born with a broken collarbone (my mom said it wasn't caught until my 2 week check up) and they put some kind of brace on me to limit movement. It healed fine.

thetwistedwillow

Recovery time for a broken clavicle in an infant is no longer than 4 weeks!So unless they had to re-break it (highly doubtful) I wonder why they told you such a long recovery time! Perhaps they meant to say weeks, not months.

My second daughter also had a broken collarbone. We found out the day after she was born. We were just very careful when holding her. There's nothing you can really do except keep her comfortable. No meds and no sling for her or anything. Because their bone is still soft infants recover much faster from this than adults.

They occur when baby gets stuck and baby was manually pulled on whether by the doc's hands, vacuum or forceps. Babies get stuck because mothers give birth on their backs or semi-sitting. A shoulder dystocia is RARE if a mother gives birth while squatting, standing, on hands-and-knees, side-lying, etc. so you can prevent this from happening in future births if you decide to give birth in a position other than lithotomy (on your back).

When you lay on your back to push the pelvis becomes a lot more narrow than if you were standing/squatting, etc. Squatting and hands-and-knees is the best position for preventing a shoulder dystocia as it opens the pelvis very wide!

Don't blame yourself. I had a ton of guilt! I felt it was my fault but the truth is that sometimes things happen. My daughter healed and she's now almost 3 (in March). She did develop Torticollis so watch out for that. It is common for children with traumatic births. Torticollis is when the muscles on one side of the neck are extremely taut and it can be painful for baby to turn their head to one side so they will prefer to keep their head turned in the less painful side. If you notice your baby's head is constantly tilted in one direction or that their chin points toward one shoulder all the time get them in to see the doctor again. May need physical therapy but it is easily remedied with simple exercises. My daughter healed from the Torticollis after 2 PT sessions.

Mrs.KLF

Awww, poor little thing.  I was born with a broken collar bone.  I didn't have a brace or anything, it just healed on it's own.  She'll be fine.