• Lack of Oxygen
• Pharmaceuticals
• Large Babies
• Unusual Position
• Excessive Force
• C-Section
• Premature Birth
• Cephalopelvic Disproportion
• Dystocia
• Prolonged Labor

Cephalopelvic disproportion is the medical condition where the baby's head or body is too big to pass through the mother's pelvis and birth canal. Cephalopelvic disproportion Usually occurs when either the fetal head or body is too large, or the mother's pelvis is too small, to allow the baby to be delivered by a normal spontaneous vaginal delivery.

An unborn child’s head or body may become too large, causing cephalopelvic disproportion, when the mother suffers from poorly controlled diabetes during pregnancy. Uncontrolled diabetes can interfere with the typical delivery of sugars and other nutrients to the baby, which, in turn, can produce abnormal growth of the fetal head and body.

During pregnancy, the baby’s head and body dimension ordinarily can be measured by ultrasonographic imaging. By comparing the fetal measurements with standard growth charts, the safe and cautious obstetrician can ascertain the relative risk of cephalopelvic disproportion by the time of delivery. When cephalopelvic disproportion is diagnosed, proper medical management may require the delivery of the baby by cesarean section.

As stated above, cephalopelvic disproportion may happen even when the infant is of a normal size in those cases where the mother's pelvis is too small to allow a normal, spontaneous vaginal delivery. The assessment of the shape of the mother's pelvis may assist the safe and cautious obstetrician in evaluating the relative risk of cephalopelvic disproportion associated with vaginal delivery. Thus, before any vaginal delivery, a cautious obstetrician will measure the mother's pelvis using a process known as pelvimetry, and will determine whether it can safely accommodate the passage of the baby, when compared to the expected size of the baby’s head and body.

During labor, a diagnosis of cephalopelvic disproportion can be made by a cautious obstetrician when the movement of delivery stops, or fails to follow the expected rate of descent, referred to as the “Friedman curve.” A halt in cervical dilatation or descent of the infant for two hours or more can signal cephalopelvic disproportion and should alert the cautious obstetrician that an operative delivery of the baby, such as cesarean delivery, may be necessary.

The failure to diagnosis a cephalopelvic disproportion may cause a shoulder dystocia, as described above, which can cause neurologic injury, such as a brachial plexus palsy. Cephalopelvic disproportion may also result in compression of the umbilical cord which can lead to fetal asphyxia and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy.

If you believe that your child may have suffered a birth injury and you would like to know your legal options, you should immediately speak with an experienced Florida birth injury lawyer. Click here for help.