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Working Towards Prevention of Brachial Plexus Injuries
  
     

 

 
Please pass this information on to anyone you know in their childbearing years.
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Shoulder Dystocia - Learn about the birthing emergency called “shoulder dystocia” and how a brachial plexus injury may occur as a result of a combination of shoulder dystocia and excessive traction.

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 Be proActive during your pregnancy and during your birth. Watch out for red flags with your birthing practitioner. Check on his/her experience level and have detailed conversations about how he/she would handle a shoulder dystocia situation if it were to occur during your birth - what maneuvers will be done, what position you will be in, etc. Discuss an emergency plan: at what point would a C-section be recommended?
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 There are many risk Factors that are associated with birth injuries. Are there some risk factors that you may be able to reduce? For example, if you do not know the shape of your pelvis, you may want to get an x-ray of your pelvis before you get pregnant to asses the shape and size of the pelvic outlet. Is gestational diabetes common in your family? You may want to follow the gestational diabetes diet throughout your pregnancy.
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 Educate yourself (and your partner) about all the interventions, positions, maneuvers, procedures used during a birth, and alternative pain relief methods, so that you can make conscious, informed choices before and during the birth. It is important to know what procedures release a "stuck shoulder" and what procedures impact it more. For example, exerting fundal pressure (having someone pushing down on the top of the uterus with great force) with the presence of shoulder dystocia can cause a very severe brachial plexus injury.