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Big Baby: What If My Baby's Shoulder Gets Stuck?

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Big Baby: What If My Baby's Shoulder Gets Stuck? (00:01:29)

Video Transcript

[Ellen] "The most common concern about giving birth to a large baby is a rare event which is called shoulder dystocia.

And that's when the infant's shoulders become stuck in the pelvis after the delivery of the baby's head."

[Dr. Riley] "In the unlikely event of a shoulder dystocia ... we react pretty quickly to that.

And we can recognize that it's happening.

So we will ask the nurses to pull mom's legs back, so that her knees are practically touching her ears.

That gives the baby more space.

And many times, then, the shoulders will just pop out.

And, in that way, we can have a safe delivery for the baby. And moms do just fine."

[Jaime] "I'm Jaime. I have a son and a daughter ... both were very large babies.

In the last stages of my labor, I was in a squatting position on the bed with a squat bar ... and he started to come out while I was pushing, and we realized he had shoulder dystocia ... So my midwife calmly called for any available OB on her walkie-talkie, which, of course, scared my husband and I ... because you think the worst.

In came a few nurses and someone kind of pushed me back on the bed and pushed on my stomach and out he flew.

And they cut the cord and took him over and checked him out, and he was fine. And that was that."

Current as of: April 30, 2024

Author: Ignite Healthwise, LLC Staff

Clinical Review Board
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