Dallas Birth Injury Lawyer Discusses Shoulder Dystocia Procedures

This month we covered a Texas birth injury lawsuit that has been filed in Victoria. A mother is suing the Victoria Women’s Clinic and her physician after she says her child suffered permanent injury due to shoulder dystocia during labor.
Unfortunately, shoulder dystocia is a somewhat common and often dangerous birth complication, with ten percent of affected infants suffering permanent injury and an eleven percent chance of post-partum hemorrhage in the mother.
How do doctors and nurses react to shoulder dystocia during labor and delivery?

• McRoberts' maneuver. This maneuver, which rotates the fetus and the mother so that the baby’s shoulder is freed from the mother’s pelvic bone, works in 40 percent of shoulder dystocia cases.
• Rubin maneuver. This maneuver involves pressing the posterior surface of the posterior shoulder of the baby, turning the fetus like a corkscrew and dislodging it.
• Suprapubic pressure. In this case, a doctor or nurse puts pressure on the mother’s abdomen at the location of the baby’s anterior shoulder. This is often used in conjunction with McRoberts’ maneuver.
• Changing the mother’s position. Rolling a laboring mother onto all fours can cause the baby’s shoulder to release from the pelvic bone – and often, engaging the force of gravity also helps.

Has your child suffered permanent injuries due to shoulder dystocia during labor and delivery? While this complication and its consequences can sometimes not be avoided, there are other cases in which this serious birth injury could have been prevented altogether. If your baby suffered injury due to shoulder dystocia, it is vital that you understand how and why that injury took place – and whether the doctors and nurses caring for you took the correct steps to fix the problem. Want to learn more about your possible birth injury case? Call the Dallas birth injury attorneys at Rasansky Law Firm today to set up a free consultation.