Shoulder Dystocia

Dealing with Shoulder Dystocia

Shoulder dystocia is simply when the infant’s shoulder gets caught against mom’s pelvic bone while descending through the birth canal . This prevents the baby from descending further. It often occurs when the baby’s head is crowning, and causes the baby to get stuck there.

This is overcome by pushing on the mom’s abdomen just above the pelvic bone to get the shoulder to pass through. It sometimes results in a fractured clavicle (collar bone). This is not serious at all and heals without any treatment.