Trigger Warning: Mention of child death
On April 6, Real Housewives Of Orange County alum, Kara Keough went into labor with her second child. She and husband, Kyle Bosworth, had expected the delivery to be as straight-forward as it was with their four-year-old daughter, Decker, having not been told any differently by Keough's physician. However, tragically, things were not simple. Instead, as soon as baby McCoy's head and body started to descend into the birth canal, he went into distress. This was the result of him having shoulder dystocia, a very rare condition that is generally not fatal.
Shoulder dystocia occurs when a baby's head is delivered, but the body cannot be due to a shoulder being stuck on the pelvic wall. The result is that blood flow and oxygen slows and the baby starts to go into distress. There is a very small window to birth the baby to minimize injuries and birth defects. Injuries, either temporary or permanent, occur 20% of the time when a child is birthed with shoulder dystocia.
One of the factors that cause this condition is having a child that is much too large to pass through the pelvis, according to Dr. Daniel Roshan, who was interviewed exclusively by Hollywood Life.
Dr. Roshan went on to say that for the most part, mothers who are carrying children who are estimated to weigh over 10 pounds will have a birthing plan in place, should a C-section not be the preferred method of delivery. It is generally recommended that children who are over 10 pounds be delivered via C-section to minimize the risk of having shoulder dystocia.
In this particular case, McCoy weighed in at 11 pounds, 4 ounces, well over the 10-pound mark. Keough, who is on the petite side, just did not have the pelvic size needed to birth such a large baby.
When shoulder dystocia does occur, though there are complications that can occur to both mother and baby, death is not a common occurrence. It is so rare that there is not a statistic as to fatalities that are a result of the condition. More likely, the child will have stretching of the nerves in the neck or suffer from a brachial plexus injury, which will cause loss of movement in the arm. This loss of movement is generally temporary, and that is known as Erb's palsy. In lesser instances, the baby may fracture an arm or shoulder, but the break more often than not heals with no future problems.
Mothers that birth a child with this condition are prone to vaginal tearing and may have heavier than normal bleeding postpartum. In extreme instances, a blood transfusion may be required.
At the end of the day, there was no way to predict that McCoy would suffer from shoulder dystocia. The entire ordeal is extremely tragic. No one expects to have to say goodbye to a child, especially on the day that they were born. There are no words to express the sorrow Keough, Bosworth, and their families are going through at this time. The deepest of sympathies go out to the family as they cope with their heartache.
Source: Hollywood Life, Royal College Of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists, shoulderdystociainfo.com