When a baby is being born, the delivery room can be a chaotic place. Hopefully, the chaos is only on the surface, but so many things can happen in normal birth. Some deliveries get extremely complicated. Shoulder Dystocia happens when one of the baby’s shoulders gets stuck behind the mother’s pelvic bone and the baby’s head retracts back into the birth canal. If you believe your child has suffered due to shoulder dystocia medical malpractice, you may be entitled to compensation, contact the Philadelphia medical malpractice attorneys at The Weitz Firm LLC to understand what it takes to go up against aggressive insurance carriers to secure maximum compensation.

1. What Exactly Is
Shoulder Dystocia ?

2. When a baby is being born, the delivery room can be a chaotic place. Hopefully, the chaos
is only on the surface, but so many things can happen in normal birth. Some deliveries get
extremely complicated. One of these complications is Shoulder Dystocia—a condition that
occurs in about 3% of all U.S. births.

3. Shoulder Dystocia happens when one of the baby’s shoulders gets stuck behind the
mother’s pelvic bone and the baby’s head retracts back into the birth canal.
If you believe your child has suffered due to shoulder dystocia medical malpractice,
you may be entitled to compensation, contact the Philadelphia medical malpractice
attorneys at The Weitz Firm LLC.

4. What Happens When Shoulder Dystocia Occurs?
Because of the baby’s head emerging and retracting into the birth canal, Shoulder Dystocia
is commonly referred to as “Turtle Sign.” Once recognized, it requires emergency
intervention to safely deliver the baby. Delivery should take place as soon as possible.
If the baby’s torso is not delivered within five minutes of the head, the chances of brain
damage, neurologic injury or fetal death rise drastically. In rare cases, there are risks of
Brachial Plexus or damaged spinal nerves that cause the arms to become weakened.

5. Potentially, this obstetrical emergency poses
a substantial risk to both the mother and
her baby. A well-prepared obstetrical staff
will proceed through a series of
tried-and-true steps to keep both the
mother and baby safe.

6. A
The Mother Will Be Told To Stop Pushing, And In No Order, These Maneuvers Include:
B
C
The McRoberts Maneuver—Flexing the mother’s hips and knees against her abdomen.
This permits the baby’s torso to emerge from the birth canal.
Suprapubic Pressure—Applying pressure to manually dislodge the shoulder and
torso.
Rubin’s and Wood’s Screw—A more invasive maneuver, requiring placing a hand
into the birth canal to rotate the baby for delivery.

7. Risk Factors To Know Before The Birth
It is hard to see Shoulder Dystocia coming, but there are several recognized risk factors. These
risks are broken down into three categories: risks associated with the mother, the fetus, and the
conditions during labor.
❖ THE RISK FACTORS INCREASE IF THE MOTHER:
➔ Has abnormal pelvic anatomy
➔ Is of advanced age
➔ Has diabetes
➔ Experiences a post-term pregnancy
➔ Is obese (a BMI of 30 or more)
➔ Has a history of Shoulder Dystocia deliveries

8. A
The Risk Factors Increase If A Fetus:
Is a male baby
If the baby has macrosomia (weighs more than eight pounds)
B

9. The Risks Increase During Labor If:
A
B
D
C
The active stage of labor is
extended
A vacuum or forceps is used to assist delivery
Pitocin is used to induce labor
Epidural anesthesia is administered

10. When Should I Contact A Lawyer?
The Philadelphia medical malpractice attorneys at The Weitz
Firm LLC understand what it takes to go up against aggressive
insurance carriers to secure maximum compensation. If you feel
like your child has been impacted by Shoulder Dystocia, they can
be by your side from the beginning to the successful end of your
case.

11. The Weitz Firm, LLC
1528 Walnut Street 4th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19102
https://www.theweitzfirm.com/contact.shtml
267-587-6240