Shoulder dystocia is a type of birth trauma that occurs during labor when one or both of a baby’s shoulders get stuck against the mother’s pelvis. This is an emergency situation that can cause distress for both the mother and the baby. When shoulder dystocia occurs, the doctor may try to move the mother’s body and the baby into a position more conducive for the baby to come out. Shoulder dystocia usually happens when the labor is prolonged and can result in birth injuries such as brachial plexus palsy or Erb’s palsy.
Known Risk Factors
There are a number of risk factors that potentially lead to shoulder dystocia.
These include:
Macrosomia: This is when a baby is larger than average or weighs more than 8 pounds and 13 ounces at birth. In such cases, a cesarean section (C-section) should be considered. Macrosomia increases the risk of babies getting stuck and causing complications that result in birth injuries.
Gestational diabetes: This is a medical condition where the mother’s body has too much blood sugar. Whether a pregnant woman has gestational diabetes or preexisting diabetes, it causes an increased risk for having a large baby.
Multiple fetuses: Being pregnant with twins, triples or multiple babies may also increase the risk of shoulder dystocia.
When the mother gets oxytocin to induce labor or gets an epidural, which is a pain medicine to numb the lower body during labor, the risk of shoulder dystocia may increase. Having a very short or very long second stage of labor may also increase this risk as does having an assisted vaginal birth where the doctor uses tools such as forceps or a vacuum to move the baby through the birth canal. Forceps are placed around the baby’s head to help guide him or her out while a vacuum is a suction cup that is set against the baby’s head to pull him or her out.
Birth Injuries Caused by Shoulder Dystocia
The baby may suffer a number of birth injuries as the result of shoulder dystocia. The baby may suffer fractures to the collarbone or arm. He or she may suffer damage to the nerves of the brachial plexus, which run from the spinal cord in the neck down the arm and provide feeling and movement to the muscles of the shoulder, arm and hand. Damage to these nerves may cause weakness or paralysis in the arms or shoulder and lead to lifelong disabilities. Shoulder dystocia may also cut off oxygen to the child’s body. In the most severe cases, this may cause brain injury or even death. When there is brain damage, cerebral palsy may occur.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
The experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you. One of our clients secured a $2,850,000 verdict that was reduced by the appeals court to $1,846,000 because the verdict was so large. This was the highest amount upheld by the appellate (appeals) courts for many, many years. In addition we recovered $1,400,000 for a newborn who lost motion in the arm during birth due to doctors applying incorrect force on the baby’s head. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
We have seen many cases where New York City Health and Hospital Corporation facilities deliver babies who are born with cerebral palsy or brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) stemming from negligence (carelessness), and/or medical malpractice in the labor and delivery etc. of the children.
The following list identifies some of these hospitals (operated by New York City Health and Hospital Corporation):
• Jacobi Hospital aka Bronx Municipal 1400 Pelham Parkway South Bronx, New York 10461 718-918-5000
• Lincoln Hospital 234 East 149th Street Bronx, New York 10451 718-579-5000
• North Central Bronx Hospital 3424 Kossuth Avenue Bronx, New York 10467 718-519-5000
• Coney Island Hospital 2601 Ocean Parkway Brooklyn, New York 11235 718-616-3000
• Kings County Hospital 451 Clarkson Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11203 718-245-3131
• Woodhull Hospital 760 Broadway Brooklyn, New York 11206 718-963-8000
• Bellevue Hospital 462 First Avenue New York, New York 10016 212-562-5555
• Harlem Hospital 506 Lenox Avenue New York, New York 10037 212-939-1000
• Metropolitan Hospital 1901 First Avenue New York, New York 10029 212-423-6262
• Elmhurst Hospital 79-01 Broadway Elmhurst, New York 11373 718-334-4000
• Queens Hospital Center 82-68 164th Street Jamaica, New York 11432 718-883-3000
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