Shoulder Dystocia, has anyone had it twice?

masseyva · June 2014

Hello All,

This will be my third birth in August. I was trying to get some info on people who have experienced shoulder dystocia during delivery. During my second daughter delivery this occurred and I was not fully aware of how serious until post delivery. Now my OB has given us the option of having a caesarean. Any good advice ! TIA

*LrCg* · June 2014

Instead of a c-section read up on The Guide of Childbirth (I think this is the title) by Ina May Gaskin. There is a Gaskin maneuver that it used for shoulder dystocia in which you deliver on hands & knees & has an extremely high success rate (there is a whole section in her book). Most doctors prefer their patients on their backs because its easier for the doctor but midwives typically allow you to birth how you want or need to since being on your back isn't really a good idea.

masseyva · June 2014

Thank you for that advice,I will look these techniques up.

Erin0303 · June 2014

My daughter had shoulder dystocia. Due to my new OB (I moved) receiving the hospital records and myself relaying the delivery information to her (active pushing for 2.5 hours stuck in canal, vacuumed, and several maneuvers later to extract her) the best medical advice was for a Csection this time around. 2 reasons... Baby 2 is usually bigger, and the fact that it a Ready happened once does increase the chance of it happening again. She explained to me that there are many situations which can take years off of an OB's life, and shoulder dystocia is one of them. I was told I was more than lucky that my daughter was perfectly healthy without any palsy issues. I, too, was not informed fated the delivery as to the severity of the situation (I knew it was emergency type when 25 attendees flooded into the room), but we are both healthy and Icky to be alive. Knowing the odds and what I went through with her, there is no chance I'd risk it again. My second child is measuring much larger than she was (7lb12oz), so for me, my husband and my unborn child currently, Csection is impending. It was a very scary thing to go through, and while rare (even my new OB said it wasn't likely a use dystocia unless they diagnosed and informed me of it)... The hospital records indicate the severity and I truly feel blessed with my current knowledge.

jerseygirl81 · June 2014

Hi, I delivered my second last May, and we had a shoulder dystocia issue. Like you, I didn't know in the heat of the moment, and found out during the de-brief with my OB the next morning. It was the most terrifying experience of my life. I had a med-free birth, so I was able to move into a position that allowed my OB to reach in and maneuver her out. Had I gotten the epidural, they said that it would have ended in an emergency c-section and possible horrible outcome that I can't even allow my brain to process.

That said, I'm not anti-epidural (I had one with my son), but if I were to give birth again (which I'm not), I would go without meds just on the off chance that it happened again and I needed to be mobile. I would do that before I'd do a planned section. My 2nd was a full pound heavier than my 1st. I know it's rare, but these experiences guide our decision-making process, so however irrational it sounds, I'd want to be prepared for it happening again.

jerseygirl81 · June 2014

Also, I hope you don't mind me invading your post with an off-topic question, but searching for this is what led me here to begin with - have you or @erin0303 had any lasting issues from the dystocia? Emeline is on track verbally/socially, but she's struggling with gross motor skills. I was searching for similar stories when I found this post. There's no evidence of palsy or nerve damage and they said that she wasn't stuck for more than 2 minutes (which is apparently when they start to worry about oxygen issues), so our pedi and PT don't suspect a correlation, but googling helps me feel better, sometimes.

Erin0303 · June 2014

No issues whatsoever... Apparently my daughter is a miracle to not have any temporary or permanent palsys, etc... I'll take that. Like everyone is stating... We didn't know the severity or possibilities for lasting complications, etc. it was so scary.

sviglas · June 2014

A friend had that with her first baby. She opted for a C-section for the second. It was the OB's suggestion but she was given the option. The first delivery was quite traumatic for her and causing lots of anxiety so she thought that it would just be best to have a C-section and everything went well.

Erin0303 · June 2014

I pray that happens for me as well (cs), as the delivery was a full on nightmare with the dystocia factor.

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