Resolving Shoulder Dystocia Guide

A baby's head has been born, but it no longer descends as we would expect. If the shoulder(s) aren't freed, blood flowing through the cord to the baby ceases to bring it oxygen. Without assistance, the baby soon becomes compromised, and brain injury and death can occur. As practitioners, we recognize the signs that the baby is asking for help, and we provide the least interventive solution that is called for in the moment to free its shoulders for it to be born.

The Resolving Shoulder Dystocia Guide is a companion guide to the Resolving Shoulder Dystocia Workshop. This course is foundationally unique and diverges from mainstream medical trainings in that it recognizes that babies' shoulders can get caught in different locations, directions, and at different levels of the pelvis. We go beyond teaching maneuvers to teaching how the shoulders can be impacted at these pelvic levels. To free the shoulders, one can match the baby's location of where it is caught to the movements and maneuvers shown in The Pelvic Levels SolutionsSM. In this way, our knowledge of anatomy, maternal positioning, and maneuvers come together as we choose timely solutions when every moment counts.

In the Resolving Shoulder Dystocia Guide, we recognize there are various resources we can use to increase the space available where the baby is stuck so that the baby can be born. It may be sufficient to change maternal positioning or to use a specific techniques or maneuvers to free the baby. Although we may not always know where the baby is stuck, we follow the clues towards a resolution. We keep going until it is found. We can do it, we will do it, and it is best to do it in a timely manner.