United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Hello everyone...

I am currently looking for people who are currently in the same situation as my husband and I are in...

My daughter, Norah, was born 9 lbs 6 oz. vaginally. During her birth, her umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck and pinned between her left shoulder and my pubic bone. When the Dr. tried to pull the cord off her neck, the cord snapped. In the urgency to get her out, the Dr. reached in, broke her right humerus and delivered her head and right arm to relieve the pressure off the left arm. After delivery it was discovered that there was an injury to the brachial plexus and her left arm was paralyzed.

We were told by our Pediatric Ortho that there is an 80 to 85% chance there is no permanent or long term damage. They are hoping that we will see some movement within 6 months but there are no guarantees. We have started Norah in Early Childhood Intervention for therapy and are perusing a specialist in this type of injury.

What I would like to know if anyone has or is going thru all of this with their child. Can we really expect a full recovery? Tell me your story...

Raechel, Sorry to hear about Norah. Our daughter had a very similar delivery. Lily was born 10 lbs 4 oz, the doctors broke her left humurus and has a right brachial plexus injury. She is almost five months old, and has had nerve transfer surgery to help her shoulder and bicep.
I'm not sure about percentages of how many babies born fully recover, but I hear its very good. How old is Norah, its good to have early intervention, our Drs at Mayo Rochester, MN are very professional, and my wife and I are pleased. Unfortunately depending on where you live, you may have to travel to find a true Brachial Plexus specialist. There are a number of other good doctors out there, which others on this board can attest for. Good luck, you found a good place for info. I found this forum not long after Lily was born and found sooo much info.

Hi Raechel - sorry your baby was injured. Mine was, too. Except now she is 11 1/2!! wowee can't believe it!

Basically everybody is here for the same reason. The parents whose kids get full recovery don't show up here because there's no need for support - they move on. And those of us who have kids who didn't recover fully come here to gather and share, etc.

The way I understand it (and I am just a mom) is that if you don't get full recovery by 4 to 6 weeks of age, then there will always be some sort of difference. Doesn't mean it will be bad, just means that the nerve was hurt a little more badly than just a little stretch. And the severity of the injury becomes more apparent as each month passes.... Maia was 5 months old and had very little movement - she could bob her arm a litle and that was it - it never bent, finger didn't move, etc. She ended up needing nerve surgery and more and in time she reached her "end" point and life took over....

She has additional problems that became apparent as the months went by and we were sent in many directions and saw many different specialists --- all of it came from moments of lack of oxygen during the birth. Neurologists didn't help us at all -- developmental pediatricians and my watchful eye figured out the rest. It's been quite the journey.

Raising Maia takes a lot of devotion and patience and time --- but she has grown up to be a fine young woman who's really successful at school and in all the activities that make her heart happy - she loves playing instruments, doing pottery, doing aikido, swimming and more.... I have so much fun with her.

There is a lot of good information on this site. Learn as much as you can about brachal plexus injuries. You need to be educated in order to make good decisions for your baby.

See a specialist (or more) at around 3-4 months of age to help determine if any intervention is necessary early on. Timing is important in the early months.

Will hope for the best for your sweet baby.
-francine

Raechel, Im not sure how much you have been told about the injury, but thought I would try to explain.

The brachial plexus consists of 5 main nerves , and others that branch off of thoose five.
Here is a list of what controls what
C5- Shoulder
C6- Elbow,tricep,bicep
C7- Wrist
C8 -Hand
T1- Hand

There is three main types of injuries.
Stretch- This is when the nerve is stretched but still connected, most often a stretch will heal on its own and surgery is not needed
Rupture- This is when the nerve is partially or fully torn in half, often a nerve graft surgery will help repair the nerve to an extent.
Avulsion- This is the worst type of injury, this is when the nerve has partially or completely tore from the spinal cord. This type of injury can also be helped with surgical intervention.

Hope this helps, I know you are wondering what type of injury Norah has. I did the same, but its hard if not impossible just by looking. If Norah has any slight movements for all her arm functions, this would be a very good sign!!! Its still best to have a specialist monitor her progress even at 4 weeks.
The reason its very important to have a specialist NOW, is if she needs surgery there is a window from 4 months - one year (I think that is a correct timeline) for nerve type surgery.