How
the Brachial Plexus is Injured?
The vast majority of brachial plexus injuries occur during birth while the child is moving through the birthing canal. Sometimes during the birth, the baby's shoulder gets caught on the mother's pelvic bone. When this happens, it is called shoulder dystocia. It is acceptable for the delivering doctor to support the head of the child and apply a small amount of traction or pressure during the dislodging maneuvers. When excessive traction is applied to the baby's head during the shoulder dystocia, the brachial plexus nerves may be injured.
It has been estimated that between 98-99% of all brachial injuries
are caused by excessive traction on the head of the child during birth.
As mentioned before, there are acceptable actions a physician should
take during a shoulder dystocia emergency. Studies strongly suggest
that the skill and experience of the delivering physician contribute
to avoiding a brachial injury. Physicians who do not exert too much
force on the baby's head during delivery do not injure babies while
those who do exceed the threshold of force are the ones who end up
delivering injured babies. |
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