Complete brachial plexus impairment: a traction-related injury

Prevention of shoulder dystocia related birth injuries: Myths and facts

Traditionally, brachial plexus damage was attributed to excessive traction applied on the fetal head at delivery. Recently, it was proposed that most injuries occur spontaneously in utero. The author has studied the mechanism of neurological birth injuries based on 338 actual cases with special attention to (1) fetal macrosomia; (2) maternal diabetes; and (3) methods of delivery. There was a high coincidence between use of traction and brachial plexus injuries. Instrumental extractions increased the risk exponentially. Erb’s palsy following cesarean section was exceedingly rare. These facts imply that spontaneous neurological injury in utero is extremely rare phenomenon. Literary reports show that shoulder dystocia and its associated injuries increased in the United States several-fold since the introduction of active management of delivery in the 1970’s. Such a dramatic change in a stable population is unlikely to be caused by incidental spontaneous events unrelated to external factors. The cited investigations indicate that brachial plexus damage typically is traction related. The traditional technique which precludes traction is the optimal method for avoiding arrest of the shoulders and its associated neurological birth injuries. Effective prevention also requires meticulous prenatal care and elective abdominal delivery of macrosomic fetuses in carefully selected cases.

Shoulder dystocia related fetal neurological injuries: the role of diabetic control

The study explores the roles of routine prenatal diabetic screening and control in the occurrence of neurological birth injuries associated with shoulder dystocia. The investigation involved retrospective review of 226 medical records that contained information about the antenatal events in cases that resulted in permanent neonatal injuries following arrest of the shoulders at delivery. Close attention was paid to diabetic screening and management of mothers with evidence of glucose intolerance. Analysis of the records revealed that one-third of all women, including those with predisposing factors, received no diabetic screening during pregnancy. The majority of confirmed diabetic patients were not treated adequately. Among babies of diabetic women, birth weights exceeding 4500 g were about 30-fold more frequent than among those with normal glucose tolerance. The data suggest that universal screening and rigid diabetic control, including mothers with borderline glucose tolerance, are effective measures for the prevention of excessive fetal growth and intrapartum complications deriving from it. If ignored, impaired maternal glucose tolerance may become a major predisposing factor for neurological birth injuries. It appears therefore that with routine screening for diabetic predisposition and effective control of gestational diabetes the risk of fetal damage can be reduced substantially.