United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Hi, I' m new to this forum and my two month old daughter has a brachial plexus injury to her left arm. she was stuck on my pelvic bone for 4 minutes during delivery. Some doctors have said that she has erb's palsey. what is the diffrence? also she has been a great sleeper she would sleep for 6 hours total during the day. and then she would sleep for 8 hours straight at night. but just recently she has been very had to get to take naps, she will go down like always but then she wakes up about 10 to 15 mins later crying. I don't know what is wrong, it is not her diaper, or needing to be fed. just recently she has started to move her left elbow a little bit which before she had no use of. do you think that it could be causing her pain and that is why she keeps waking up? has anyone else had a problem like this? I live in wisconsin and right now it is cold and damp could that be affecting her arm?
any information or advice would be very helpful,
thanks,
Bonnie

It could defeinately be the weather. She is still young and cannot voice her concerns and or pain. My son is 8 1/2 and we live in IL right across the border from WI and he has recently been complaining about his arm hurting. He says it just aches mom and cannot explain the pain. Warm weather is coming....( I HOPE) and then may be it won't hurt him so much.
If I am correct, Erb's Palsy and Brachial Plexus Injury are exactly the same thing, if I am wrong, someone will let us know I am SURE !!!

GAYLE mom of Brandon 8 1/2 ROBPI

Welcome to the Message Boards.
Congratulations on your new baby and I am sorry you had to find us. But I am very happy you have found support so soon.

I am sitting here and my arm is freezing as I type.
The cold weather we have had lately is rough on my robpi arm. Our weather here in NY is starting to warm up but the last week we have had ice and snow... ugh I hate it.

Cold and damp weather has always bothered me.
I usually put a fleece jacket or blanket on my arm when I sleep or when I just sit around.

Perhaps you should try putting on warm sleeper for nap time maybe the baby's arm is cold.

Kath robpi/adult

From what I understand, Erb's palsy is a RESULT of a brachial plexus injury. It is a name for the symptoms (presentation) of the original problem (BPI). Apart from semantics, they are the same thing

Hello Bonnie and welcome to the boards, although I am sorry to hear that your baby was injured.

Its hard to say what might be causing your daughter to wake up, but it could be just a baby thing. My uninjured nephew went through a period like that, now hes back to his usual sleeping patters. On the other hand it very easily could be the cool damp weather we have had. I know I am experiencing pain in my hand a lot right now, maybe its weather, I really have no idea! I am in Duluth, MN so across the bridge from Wisconsin. Weather's pretty similar here.

To your other question, Erb's Palsy is a type of Brachial Plexus Injury. There are three typed if I remember right, Erb's Palsy which is an upper trunk injury Klumpke's Palsy whick is lower trunk and global whish is a mix of all the nerves. I could be missing one but I am not sure. Really though, Erb's Palsy is kind of a blanket term that most of us are labeled with regardless of our specifing injury. So we often use Brachial Plexus Injury as a more general term. Or at least thats how I see it.

I hope that helps and didnt confuse you more. If you have any questions feel free to ask away! Hope your baby girl recovers!
Hugs,
Amy 20 years old ROBPI (right obsterical brachial plexus injury) From MN

Erb's = damage to C5-C6 and sometimes C7
Klumpke's = damage to C7-C8-T1
Global or Complete = all 5 nerves are involved, and Horner's can be apparent as well.

These are ALL brachial plexus injuries, but are classified according to which nerves are involved... named after the MD who discovered it first.

Marieke (31, LOBPI)

Hi Bonnie!

Congrats on the new baby. I am sorry about your daughter's injury, but I am glad you found support so soon.

I think everyone else has taken care of your Erbs palsy/ BPI question, so I will attempt to address some other issues you may be having.

First of all- if you have not already done so- you need to get your daughter in to physical therepy. The PT can show you how to do GENTLE range of motion exercises with your baby. These are VERY important with these kids- they need you to move that arm for them. I made ROM exercises part of a routine diaper change- it worked well for us.

Also, it is a good idea to take your baby to a BPI specialist. Early intervention is key. UBPN has a great listing of BPI specialists. It is a good idea to talk to several specialists and then choose the one that is right for you.

You said your baby is not sleeping well. Sorry to hear that- I'm sure you arent sleeping either then! My daughter has been waking up at night lately too- and I think it is definately the weather! When Olivia was a baby, I used to put a heating pad in her bed to warm up the spot where she would lay, then remove the heating pad before putting her in the bed. That seemed to help her stay asleep by having her bed warm for her. Also, you may try putting her blanket in he dryer to heat it up before covering her up with it.

Since her arm is not moving, it is not getting the circulation that the rest of her body is getting. If her arm gets cold, she may wake up crying. Massaging the arm with lotion will also help promote blood flow and keep her skin from getting dry.

As much as I hate it, your little baby may also have pain. If that is the case, a BPI specialist can help.

I know that this is confusing and hard. There is so so much to learn about this injury. You have come to the right place. The people on this board are so knowledgeable and helpful- I wish I had found this board when my daughter was a baby. Good luck!

Veronica
mom to Olivia, almost 3, Bi-OBPI

Just read your news. I agree with Olivia's post -- early intervention is key. Evaluation by somene specializing in these injuries may result in much needed treatment. The evaluation should include a determination as to whether your daughter needs surgery before six months. Usually this is determined based on whether she is showing recovery from the injury or not. Good luck.