2 Week Follow up

I had my 2 week follow up appt with my dr on Monday.  I asked the question that part of me wishes I didn't ask.  I waited until today to look up what it meant.  My heart sank as I read it.  I sit here holding my 3 week old daughter knowing that things could have turned out so different for us.  I thank God for her and that He was with us that day.  It makes a little sleepy eye so insignificant. 

Apparently what happened was called Shoulder Dystocia, where the shoulders are too broad to fit through the mother's pelvic bone.  My dr said they used the McRoberts manuveur to get her out and thankfully it worked really quickly (30 seconds).  She said they have 2 minutes to get the baby out and at 5 minutes the baby is in significant danger. 

I looked it up and this is what wikipedia said: 

Shoulder dystocia is a specific case of dystocia whereby after the delivery of the head, the anterior shoulder of the infant cannot pass below the pubic symphysis, or requires significant manipulation to pass below the pubic symphysis. It is diagnosed when the shoulders fail to deliver shortly after the fetal head. In shoulder dystocia, it is the chin that presses against the walls of the perineum. Shoulder dystocia is an obstetric emergency, and fetal demise can occur if the infant is not delivered, due to compression of the umbilical cord within the birth canal. 

One often described feature is the turtle sign, which involves the appearance and retraction of the fetal head (analogous to a turtle withdrawing into its shell), and the erythematous (red), puffy face indicative of facial flushing. This occurs when the baby's shoulder is obstructed by the maternal pelvis.^[2]

Although the definition is imprecise, it occurs in approximately 1% of vaginal births. There are well-recognised risk factors, such as diabetes,^[12] fetal macrosomia, and maternal obesity, but it is often difficult to predict.^[13][14] Despite appropriate obstetric management, fetal injury (such as brachial plexus injury) or even fetal death can be a complication of this obstetric emergency.

Recurrence rates are relatively high.^[15]

Complications:

• Klumpke paralysis
• Erb's Palsy
• Fetal hypoxia
• Fetal death
• Cerebral palsy
• Maternal post partum hemorrhage

McRoberts maneuver;^[3][4] The McRoberts maneuver is employed in case of shoulder dystocia during childbirth and involves hyperflexing the mother's legs tightly to her abdomen. This widens the pelvis, and flattens the spine in the lower back (lumbar spine). If this maneuver does not succeed, an assistant applies pressure on the lower abdomen (suprapubic pressure), and the delivered head is also gently pulled. The technique is effective in about 42% of cases