Premium
Shoulder Dystocia: A Study of 47 Cases
Author(s) -
Johnstone Neil R.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
australian and new zealand journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.734
H-Index - 65
eISSN - 1479-828X
pISSN - 0004-8666
DOI - 10.1111/j.1479-828x.1979.tb01347.x
Subject(s) - medicine , shoulder dystocia , gestation , forceps , obstetrics , incidence (geometry) , vaginal delivery , forceps delivery , complication , impaction , stage (stratigraphy) , pregnancy , surgery , paleontology , genetics , physics , optics , biology
Summary: : Shoulder dystocia at vaginal delivery occurred in 0.2% of cases. Antenatal prediction of this complication was very difficult. In primigravidae in labour, delay late in the first stage was a warning sign; induction of labour, the use of regional analgesia, and forceps delivery for delay in the second stage of labour were associated with subsequent shoulder dystocia, although a cause‐effect relationship was not established. The immediate maternal and fetal morbidity were high, nearly 30% of the babies suffering from a severe neural or bony injury. Forty‐four per cent of the babies were beyond 41 weeks of gestation, and 70% weighed over 4,000 g. The avoidance of postmaturity by elective induction of labour at 41 weeks of gestation would significantly reduce the incidence of shoulder impaction at delivery.