Should Dystocia: Birth Injury Risk Factors

If you are pregnant and your unborn child is estimated to weigh more than 8 pounds, 13 ounces, then you may be concerned about potential birth injuries including shoulder dystocia and Erb’s palsy. While neither condition is able to be predicted prior to your child’s birth, there are number of factors that put you and your baby at risk.

Your risk for those conditions is elevated if you are over the age of 35, obese, significantly past your due date, diabetic or if you have previously given birth to a large baby or one who suffered from shoulder dystocia.

Being at risk does not render you helpless. Depending on how large your baby is estimated to be and the number of risk factors, you may decide to speak with your doctor about delivering the baby via a Cesarean Section (C – Section).

Yet, it is important to know that a C – Section is major surgery and it not without risk. C – Sections carry many of the same risks as other major surgeries including the risk of infection, blood loss and respiratory complications from anesthesia. Other complications include risk of changes in bladder or bowel function that may require further surgeries. C- Sections require longer hospital stays and recovery times than vaginal births and carry a higher risk of maternal death at about 1 in 2,500 as compared to 1 in 10,000 vaginal births.

For more information about the pros and cons of C – Sections please visit the NYU Langone Medical Center website.

When the time comes to make a decision, most women are dependent on the knowledge and expertise of their doctors to help them come to the right decision. It's important that you work with a doctor whom you trust to exercise the right standard of care.