Shoulder dystocia = c-section now?

[Greenbabybottoms]

I would also encourage you to get 2 nd opinions no matter what your Dr says. I found seeing a group of perinatologist, high risk obs and my midwives supervising obs helped. They didn't all agree with one another but hearing different opinions helped ease my mind still. I had very long pushing phases with my first 2 (3.5 hours and 6.5 hours) which are huge red flags. We set up a birth plan that the Peri's though were safe. I was induced, in the hospital, and we were monitoring progress closely. They limited me to an hour of pushing. But having a plan set out really helped me feel more comfortable with attempting a vaginal birth.

[crunchymom2b]

I don't think its that many doctors lie persay, I think its more a fear of lawsuits. Doctors are much, much more likely to push a section at the slightest hint of something scary or "off course" just so they can say they did everything they could. I read a quote somewhere that rang very true- "the only c-section a doctor gets sued for is the one they didn't do." Mama, your doctor is probably thinking "why risk it?"

If you plan on getting an epidural then I'd probably go right for the section. You're gonna need to freedom of movement and an epidural won't allow for that. But my biggest question for you is this (taking into consideration how your DH feels too)-

Which is gonna make you feel worse: opting straight for the section and ending up with a baby only a few ounces bigger than your last or smaller even, or choosing to labor and deliver but winding up with another distocia? Which scenario would be easier for you to live with?

Let's face it, both options have the potential to carry some heavy risks. I second getting another opinion, speaking at length with your OB, and doing lots of research. There is no wrong answer, there's only the answer you feel most at peace with. Good luck

[rumblepurr]

My first was a shoulder dystocia, sunny side up. He had Erb's Palsy, which resolved at 3 months. He is just fine now. Was I worried that the next would be the same? Honestly no, I thought it was the position of the baby. The next was also sunny side up, but no complications, he was my easiest labor and also my smallest, earliest baby by 6 ounces and right on his due date. Out of all 4 of my pregnancies only one sonogram was accurate for the weight of the baby. My last the doctor was "extremely nervous" that I had a huge baby. He was measuring him at 10 lbs and we "needed to be induced because he is getting to big". #4 was born 8 lbs 6 oz.

[raisingcropsandbabies]

Originally Posted by Rainfall I'm so upset and just want to hear from other mamas that have experience with shoulder dystocia. My babies have gotten progressively larger each time (7.10, 8.9, 8.14) and this baby is right on track to be another chunker. I'm 33 weeks now and just had my checkup with my OB (who I normally love but am starting to think she's a c-section pusher). My last kiddo had shoulder dystocia and I nearly ended up with a c-section. I was induced at my due date because he was measuring huge, I'd already been to L&D for an NST because he wasn't moving much anymore, and then my impatient DH started his vacay early and I just agreed to induction. My water was broke right away of course and by the time I was at 5 or 6 cm on full pitocin I opted for an epidural. Well, I stalled out at 8cm for HOURS and DS was in distress the entire day. I had to be on oxygen, laid up on one side kinda propped and couldn't even get up to pee because DS' heartrate was erratic if I moved positions. Just as they were gathering the forms for the c-section my OB checked me and I was at 9.5cm and I just decided to push anyway and was able to get him out. But he had shoulder dystocia and his cord was strangling him (probably the cause for the erratic heartrate in labor). So with all of that said...at my appointment today my OB said that she wanted me to go for another growth check u/s at 37 weeks. If baby is measuring really big, she wants to talk to me about scheduling a c-section because I have a history of the shoulder dystocia. I asked her to explain what happens and the birth complications and now I'm freaked out. Freaked out to have this baby vaginally and freaked out at the possibility of needing a c-section. I know in the end all that matters is a healthy baby, but I feel like the c-section talk is just thrown out like it's no big deal. But then I start thinking, if I refuse this and stand my ground and try another vaginal birth and something DOES happen to the baby, it'd be all my fault and how the heck could I live with that? Ugh, I'm just such a mess right now. I've had 3 kids and all 3 ended in inductions. My pregnancies are wonderful, complication-free. I'm one of those freaks that just love every bit of being pregnant and EVERY single time it comes to getting them out, all of this stress and negativity comes up. It just feels like my body WON'T go into labor on its own, or if it does, it would be really late...and babies would be even bigger and there would be more risks. I get scared into inductions and end up with epidurals because the pain from the pitocin is so bad I can't manage. I just want so badly to go into labor on my own, avoid meds, and have my baby. But NO. I don't know what I'm looking for, this is a mess of a post. If you have experience with shoulder dystocia though, I'd love to hear your story and if subsequent pregnancies resulted in bigger babies and more shoulder dystocia.

I know, firsthand, what a hard decision this is to make. Just a little bit of info that I learned when I went to a Brachial Plexus Conference recently (an injury that can happen to the baby during a shoulder dystocia)... doctors are finding a link between inductions and shoulder dystocias. ACOG's "bible" even says that they are shown NOT to be effective in preventing a shoulder dystocia and many studies are beginning to show it can increase your risk of a shoulder dystocia occuring.

If your shoulder dystocias are happening though, because of a true misfit then you are around 7x more likely to have it keep happening and the bigger the baby the more likely the injury to baby will be more serious. It's a high risk of it happening again and thus a very hard decision to make about going with a trial of labor.

My personal experience: My first son was 9lbs.8oz. (not huge, but too big for me) and a severe shoulder dystocia. When he was pulled out, the force of the pulling tore nerves in his neck from his spinal column and he now has a lifelong birth injury (brachial plexus that has required him to have surgeries, lifelong therapies, and limited use of his arm). He needed resusitated and oxygen and has some sensory issues due to his time without oxygen as well. With him, I went into labor on my own and had a homebirth with no interventions of any kind, didn't labor on my back, changed positions frequently, etc. I did have some red flags that were ignored or overlooked or explained away during it though. My son is my miracle and while I'm thankful he's alive; it was hard to process everything that happened and this whole different life we lead because of the trauma he experienced from the birth (it's a world full of medical appts); the thought of deciding what I was going to do with other pregancies/births caused a lot of anxiety. It's a LOT of pressure and such a hard decision. I cried a lot when trying to decide, didn't want to bond with my baby in utero because I was scared he would die and wouldn't be able to be brought back to life, etc. It was a hard time emotionally, even though I felt great physically.

My baby boys did keep getting bigger even though I gained less weight, ate healthier, and worked out frequently during my other pregnancies. They went from 9lbs.8oz to 10lbs.3oz to 12lbs.2oz and then a tiny 8lbs.8oz baby girl (our first girl).
I had c-sections with the rest of my babies and will continue to have them if we keep having more kids. I didn't have the research I gave you above then (only 4 years ago), but based our decision off of our feeling of what God was leading us to do (it also helped #2 turned breech last minute) and when we saw how big our second baby was after trying everything to keep him little; it only confirmed our faith that the c/s is what helps us have healthy babies. C-sections suck, but I have 3 perfectly healthy babies because of them. I think the decision is easier for me now to be even more okay with, because we were able to deduce from the lack of interventions/etc that my pelvic outlet is just not big enough. I would be more wishy washy if I had been induced, so that must be hard! ((big hugs)) mama.

If you want to talk more, I'm here. Shoulder dystocias are a serious thing and most doctors are freaked of them for a reason. Many of them have lost babies because of it... it's traumatic. Are you using the same doctor who delivered your other babies, with this baby?