vaginal delivery following shoulder dystocia

[jes74]

hi, im a newbie to mumsnet and was looking for anyone out there who has experianced having a child with shoulder dystocia that has gone on to have a vaginal delivery. I am currently 35 weeks pregnant with number 4 and will be seeing consultant next week re birth plan as dd was nearly 10lb at birth and due to shoulder dystocia it is a miracle she is here as took 10 mins to resusitate. I was hoping to be induced at 37 weeks but the closer it gets the more nervous i am becoming. sorry to ramble on but i dont know anyone else this has happenned to.

Ds1 had shoulder dystocia and weighed 9lbs 8oz. With ds2 I was induced early so that he would be smaller at birth. There was also a doctor on standby when the pushing stage started. Ds2 weighed 9lb at 38wks. He got stuck but only very briefly. When I had dd the policy had changed and early inductions were no longer offered but I was induced at 40wks with a doctor on standby again. This time there were no problems at all.

they had said that they would consider inducing me at 37 weeks because there are concerns for my health if i need a c section. i had a scan two weeks ago and baby is on the 97th centile so they know already he is big and they will scan again next week. Because of this and the fact i tore badly as well as having a P.P.H the doctor i saw 2 weeks ago said she thought they will opt to induce at 37 weeks to minimise need for c section. that means if anything goes wrong i will need emergency c section, so they want me to have an epidural. My other labours have all been natural childbirths even my darling daughter, although i needed a spinal to be stitched which i hated. Just seems i have no control this time and now i know they expect yet another big baby i am beginning to feel tense about it all.

Hi Jes - true shoulder dystocia is quite unusual, and is more common with bigger babies but this is not always the case, as it can depend a lot on yours and babys position at delivery. Lying on your back or even semi-recumbant (sitting up at 45 degrees) is most likely to cause this, so its important to keep upright if you can.

Im guessing that you did not have shoulder dystocia with the first 2? If its any consolation, for all the times I have seen the team standing outside the labour room door, ready to jump in and assist at the first sign of sticky shoulders, I have only once seen them have to do much, as being prepared will almost certainly mean that there will not be a problem. Sorry if this is a bit anecdotal though

If you were to be induced at 37 weeks, (and I think you have a good case for this), it does not mean that you are not in control, I have been the midwife in many beautiful labours where the woman has been induced, had an epidural and the synto drip, and within a few hours, she has had a great experience of a completely painfree labour. It might not be exactly what you expected but it can still be a fantastic experience, especially if you can have a mobile epidural with wireless monitoring, (which we can use) and can still walk around the unit, use the mats / ball / birth stool, or just squat or hands and knees to deliver. Just no pain

I know this will not stop you from worrying, because that is natural if you had a traumatic experience last time, but if you can stay positive, Im sure things will be better than you are expecting. Good luck.

Message withdrawn

thanks for your posts i know whatever will be will be, im sure once i see the consultant on monday and know what will happen i will be more relaxed its the waiting for a decision i hate, i laboured standing up with dd until midwife became concerned over her hertbeat dropping when i had contractions and decided i needed to be on monitor, but i already felt something was wrong guess as she was my third i knew it didnt feel right. In a way its worst for dh at least i will have the labour to concentrate on! and it will hopefully be an easy and quick labour and if no stitches then that would be a fantastic bonus.

Hi there. I had true shoulder dystocia with ds1. He was only 8lb 3oz but I am only 5ft, dp 6ft, don't know if that contributed, though they made me get on the bed for the second stage which I personally feel was to blame. He also came out very poorly with apgar score of 1. Took 8 mins to resusitate. It was very scarey, I know exactly what you went through and why you are so anxious now.

Just to let you know though that we went through exactly this a couple of months ago for the birth of our second son, now 8 weeks old, and the birth was absolutely fine, he came out easily with a few pushes (11 minute second stage). We were very anxious too but I was keen not to be induced and wanted to have a natural delivery. The first consultant I saw was a moron who said I would have to labour lying on my back strapped to a monitor so they could do the McRoberts manoevure again more easily if the baby got stuck again, as would probably happen, according to her. I thought this was stupid and more likely to make it happen again.

I switched to a different consultant who was much more reasonable and didn't see why I couldn't have a natural birth but just to keep a close eye on progress and have the doctors on standby, which they did. We also insisted they put a resuscitair (sp?) in the room when we got there as there wasn't one and having seen one used in anger before we wanted one close by. Anyway, it all went fine like I say, though ds2 was 7lb 11 and on 50th centile so not as big as your baby, but I don't think it is inevitable that it will happen again. I stood up the whole way through and delivered squatting as this gives most room in the pelvis apparently.

Good luck with your decision, let us know how it goes.

Also no stitches for me - so again, it is possible!

funny i'm 4ft 11 an dh 5ft 11 and his father and brother both over 6ft so ive always blamed them for my big babies ds1 7lb 8oz at 37wks, ds2 8lb 10oz at 40wks and dd at 9lb 13oz at 39wks. So not very keen to have an even larger baby! As for my consultant i have yet to meet him because i moved at 20 weeks i had to be refered to new one. i have seen his s.h.d. and registrar but won't see him until monday so fingers crossed he is not a moron as will be bit late to change and when there last they said they haven't got my notes from previous hospital just some basic notes that dont tell them anything more than i have. I suppose they will turn up a week after having baby at least i can still smile, although i do not intend to have any more i must be mad to have wanted 4 children anyway. now all i need is to finally have a baby without the need for stitches that would be great.

Actually Im 4ft 11 too but i round up to 5 ft! That's funny, must be something about tall fathers and short mothers - wish someone had told me in my twenties and i'd have looked for someone shorter!

Good luck with the appt, hope it goes well. Try not to get stressed - hard I know.