Nuchal Hand question - Page 2

[laohaire]

Originally Posted by coobabysmom

Nuchal hands/arms=ouch, in a big way! This leads me to wonder if everyone tore badly too (multiple 3rds here)...

I tore. I was told I had a second degree tear, so that wasn't so bad. But I think it must have been one heck of a LONG tear. It took over an hour to be stitched up (went to the ER and the OB attending stitched me, so it wasn't inexperience... plus I felt him put in a LOT of stitches).

Also, it took me 6 hours to push her out. She was my first, but I really feel the hand really kind of got us stuck a bit for a few hours. When I finally pushed her out, I did it on purpose - I was draining, and I was worried about my poor baby's head going through all that, and I psyched myself up (and announced to everyone that the next push was going to be "the one"), and the next contraction I kept pushing even after the contraction, and harder than the contraction was pushing on its own. I realize you're not "supposed" to do that, and no doubt that's when I tore, but I have never regretted it; baby and I were getting tired.

[coobabysmom]

Originally Posted by Full Heart

I never tore. Well I had a skid mark but thats it.

Awesome. Do you feel the pushing stage was affected by the nurchal arm?

[kerikadi]

My water broke on it's own while sitting on a birth stool about 5.5 hours into labor, my DD was born minutes later in our bathtub with a nuchal hand.
Oh, and we just had a skidmark as well, she was 8lbs 8oz.

Keri

[Robinna]

Originally Posted by coobabysmom

Nuchal hands/arms=ouch, in a big way! This leads me to wonder if everyone tore badly too (multiple 3rds here)...

actually it was no big deal. he was 8lbs 6oz, 20 minutes of pushing (1st baby), and all I had was a skid mark.

[Jster]

Nuchal hand here! And I felt her tickling my cervix as well, and we had an u/s the day before birth (going on 42 weeks) and she had her hand up there. The video of her birth is funny, she's coming out, and my sister says, "Oh! There's that hand!"

I did tear...but only 1st degree, it was just a funny shape, so it took a while to stitch. My mw was actually concerned that the tissue wouldn't reattach, because it was quite a flap, and I'm convinced it was her hand that did it. Also, her descent through my birth canal was excruciatingly painful, I just kept feeling this burning and pain, and knew something was up. I begged the mw to break the bag of waters right before pushing, at 9.5cm+, because I wasn't quite complete, but baby and my uterus were pushing her out and it really was painful. She was born about 20 minutes later.

I'm impressed with the nuchal hands/arms and no tearing, wow! Did anyone else experience a really painful descent?

Oh, dd2 w/ nuchal hand was 9lbs, dd1 had been 7lb 11oz, so a big size difference as well.

[Spark]

Originally Posted by Jster

I'm impressed with the nuchal hands/arms and no tearing, wow! Did anyone else experience a really painful descent?

I had nuchal hand with my first. No tearing. I *did* say at one point, "Hot Compresses NOW!" And, he was posterior, too. I pushed him out sunnyside up with his hand beside his head. I remember thinking when I got his head out that all the books would say I'd feel relief since only his neck resting in my perenium... but his elbow was there, too, so it was just as big as his head was. I felt a little misled by the book at that moment.

I did have really painful descent, but I'm not sure if that was nuchal hand stuff or posterior stuff.

My posterior nuchal hand baby was my smallest (most room to get all turned around?) and my most painful and odd process of labor (reverse dilation, stops & starts galore, pain). I swore by www.spinningbabies.com after that though and my other 2 babies were perfectly positioned.

[stacyann21]

My ds was born with a nuchal hand wrapped in the cord! I didn't have AROM. My water broke naturally at about 10 cm.

[Peppamint]

I posted in your other thread but I wanted to post and subscribe here, I like all the shared stories.

Originally Posted by busybusymomma

dd2 (#3) had nuchal hand... the problem for me was getting active labor going... at five days post-dates I had my first VE and was 4cm/stretchy to 8cm. My bp was rising, so my mw stripped my membranes and noticed fingers at dd's scalp (and my cervix). That explained the very weird feelings I'd been having at my cervix and possibly why I'd had so much prodromal labor without turning into active labor.

Once active labor began it was very quick and intense (~2 hours). I had awful, awful back labor, I'm presuming it was her arm pressing on something. My waters ruptured spontaneously and I threw down at that time. Her arm being up did require an extra push whereas my previous baby had just shot out without me pushing. No tears or repairs needed, I caught.

In my above post, I forgot to say that the week before my midwife felt fingers in the VE, the midwife's apprentice said she felt an arm up by baby's head when she did palpations.

Descent WAS excrutiating. I'm glad my labor was fast because the back labor was awful and I'm glad she came pretty quick once I started pushing. I have a roomy pelvis, so I'm hoping if we have #4 that he/she won't decide to be a finger sucker too.

To this day, dd sucks her two middle fingers on her right hand, she's 10mo now.

[~Yola]

My Dd was born with a nuchal arm and hand, one elbow was in front of her nose and pushing against my spine...talk about bad back labour!The other hand was holding her ear.

I did tear with her (the only birth were I've torn) right when her elbow was comming out,it was an awfully tight fit, lol.
I'm only 5'3" and barely 100lb when not pregnant...so I don't think it's a matter of my pelvis being very large..

It wasn't a bad tear however, 1st degree..I belive I got 3 stitches..hmmm, maybe 5..

Oh, and my waters ruptured spontaniously about 2 hours before she was born, at home, and the hospital was a 30min drive away, which I believe influenced the length of my labour (I've promised myself I will never get in a car well in labour again, lol)

[coobabysmom]

Originally Posted by jenmidwife2b

AROM can cause a nuchal hand to get "stuck" that way, but most likely the hand was already there.

Completely anecdotaly, I caught a waterbaby in the caul that had a nuchal hand. I felt her little fingers flex against the bag of waters as she was being born and saw them through the bag holding her ear just before I broke the bag after she was born. It was the coolest thing. .

What an amazing thing to witness! WOW!!!! While I was pg, I always thought ds would be born in th caul!

Originally Posted by jenmidwife2b

Mom did have tearing along an old episiotomy line with her birth.

Do you think this had to do with arm?

[coobabysmom]

Originally Posted by mwherbs

since you think that this might have been the cause -- I wondered if your intuition about it was also something you sensed- had a physical feeling- or a mental image when it happened.

The Arom/nuchal hand connection didn't occur to me until many months later.

I felt very centered and tuned in to my body & baby during labor at home, and was really clear all was well without any sensation of tickling or scratching as other posters describe. Contrax were super irregular and I always thought it was because I self-induced with the cohoshes and I was a first timer.

I actually didn't know until about the "hand" until a few days after ds was born when I went back to the midwives' office for bright blood (popped stitches) and severe pain then I was told.

[coobabysmom]

Originally Posted by 2sweetboysmom

I was born with a nuchal arm/hand, my mom said her labor started with srom (at k-mart : ) Her labor with me was 6 hours.
My first was 7lb 9oz nuchal hand (I had felt him "scratching" my cervix with his fingers for a couple of weeks beforehand) He was arom + pit to induce (pre-e) 6hr labor.
My second was 8lb8oz and had a nuchal hand too. arom 7 hr labor.
Both my boys curled into a position with their hand over their head for weeks after birth so I'm just glad it was only a nuchal hand!!

To feel him scratching at your cervix just blows my mind!

[coobabysmom]

Originally Posted by kerikadi

My water broke on it's own while sitting on a birth stool about 5.5 hours into labor, my DD was born minutes later in our bathtub with a nuchal hand.
Oh, and we just had a skidmark as well, she was 8lbs 8oz.

Keri

It feels good to hear many women citing only skidmarks or less. Sounds like you had a nice birth experience.

[Belle]

My dd had a nuchal hand. I had AROM at 9+cm. I think it was already up there and the AROM didn't have much to do with it.

[KWenn]

DD was born with a nuchal hand. I had a few tears on the inside that needed a few stitches. When her head came out, I saw the splash of bright red blood and knew something had happened

I had SROM @ almost 10 cm while sitting on the birth stool. Some back labor as well--didn't know this was from her hand being up there?

This is an interesting thread!

[jenmidwife2b]

I was so privileged to be there, it was my first "catch" on my own. I really feel that since that first catch was a caul baby I am doubly blessed.

Originally Posted by coobabysmom

Do you think this had to do with arm?

I think it was twofold, one, the hand/arm and also her position. Initially she was on her side pushing but was clamping her legs together everytime she pushed so I asked her if she'd like to try a different position so she could open up. She chose squatting. Squatting opens up a pelvis just wonderfully, but also puts more pressure on the perineal area since this makes it tighter. So, I think it was the squat position and that lovely hand.

[coobabysmom]

Originally Posted by KWenn

DD was born with a nuchal hand. I had a few tears on the inside that needed a few stitches. When her head came out, I saw the splash of bright red blood and knew something had happened

I had SROM @ almost 10 cm while sitting on the birth stool. Some back labor as well--didn't know this was from her hand being up there?

This is an interesting thread!

Again, I am seeing a pattern here with us mamas of "nuchal hands/arms".

I too was on a birth stool and a splash of brith red blood came out with his head/hand.

[coobabysmom]

Originally Posted by busybusymomma

I posted in your other thread but I wanted to post and subscribe here, I like all the shared stories.


In my above post, I forgot to say that the week before my midwife felt fingers in the VE, the midwife's apprentice said she felt an arm up by baby's head when she did palpations.

Descent WAS excrutiating. I'm glad my labor was fast because the back labor was awful and I'm glad she came pretty quick once I started pushing. I have a roomy pelvis, so I'm hoping if we have #4 that he/she won't decide to be a finger sucker too.

To this day, dd sucks her two middle fingers on her right hand, she's 10mo now.

Finger sucker! So cute.

Yes the descent was excrutiating for me too. While pushing I actually wondered when the relief was going to come as I had read in a number of books and hear from others! Early and Active labor was pretty manageable compared to the pushing...

The shared stories mean a lot to me. Thanks to all and I hope they keep coming.

[coobabysmom]

Originally Posted by jenmidwife2b

I was so privileged to be there, it was my first "catch" on my own. I really feel that since that first catch was a caul baby I am doubly blessed.

You're kidding! That seems like a great omen to the start of your midwifery career and dare I say it highlights your trust in the female body to do it's work without intervention.

Originally Posted by jenmidwife2b

I think it was twofold, one, the hand/arm and also her position. Initially she was on her side pushing but was clamping her legs together everytime she pushed so I asked her if she'd like to try a different position so she could open up. She chose squatting. Squatting opens up a pelvis just wonderfully, but also puts more pressure on the perineal area since this makes it tighter. So, I think it was the squat position and that lovely hand.

This gives me a lot to think about actually...

[Full Heart]

Originally Posted by coobabysmom

Awesome. Do you feel the pushing stage was affected by the nurchal arm?

Nope. I hate pushing, I panic. But it very quick and I let my body do all the work. Doesn't seem to matter where the hand is - all hurts the same lol.

I gave birth 2 days ago, now no one actually saw the birth cause I was on hands and knees in the pool facing away from everyone but I am pretty sure there was no hand or arm and I again had SROM to start off labor.