Nuchal Hand question - Page 3

[Peppamint]

Originally Posted by coobabysmom

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

I had to push hard and give an extra push. My previous babe (1oz bigger) had practically fallen out because I had that ejection reflex going. I still had the reflex feeling with my nuchal hand baby too, but she didn't come out as easily.

It definitely changed the pushing stage and I think it could have caused some probs if my pelvis wasn't so roomy, and if I hadn't already given birth twice. Who knows though.

[attachedmamaof3]

My first and second both had nuchal hands (and were both posterior strangely enough)...the first I believe was because we had to do an internal version since he was coming out shoulder/arm first...the second had 2 nuchal hands/arms and was posterior. His bag broke on it's own when he crowned. I had no tearing (with any of mine) and a 1.5 hr labor...so I think (in my experience anyway) that the nuchal hands are already there but an AROM may cause it to 'stick' for lack of a better word...

[2Sweeties1Angel]

Saffron's had was up by her face at my 38 weeks US. I just assumed she'd move it before birth but no, she didn't. I had SROM a few hours before she was born and she came out with the nuchal hand. That didn't feel so good.

[yeahwhat]

It definitely did not effect pushing for me. Once srom happened, I got an overwhelming urge to push on the next contraction and baby girl arrived in one long push.

I'd never thought to connect the terrible back pain I had during the last 30 minutes or so with the position of her elbow. I guess that's a possible explanation.

[MyCalling]

My first was a nuchal arm and I had srom at 7cm that had nothing to do with it. His cord was wrapped under his arm pit and around the other side of his neck holding it up there. His fingers where the first thing to crown and his arm had to be crossed over and pulled through before he would fit out.

I felt everything and have a huge fear of pushing each birth because of it. On the side with the elbow, I tore from front to back along the inside and up the center of my labia and swelled like I had elephantiasis on the opposite side.

[loraxc]

I'm bumping this because I'd love to hear more from mamas who birthed babies with nuchal hands. I am almost 36 weeks and my MWs have felt a nuchal hand at my last 3 appointments; babe is also very low, so I think this critter has its mind made up. I'm nervous about tearing and long labor (my first labor was 34 hours!)

[wendy1221]

My first had a nuchal hand. My doc didn't break my water until after I had been pushing for over an hour. I don't think her breaking my water had anything to do with it. I do think it's the reason I had to push for 2.5 hours, though.

[Queen of my Castle]

Interesting thread!
Dd had a nuchal hand, and I too felt her tickling me with her fingers way down low a week or so before. It was so weird, a new sensation. I remember thinking to myself, 'don't tell me this baby is going to come out with a nuchal hand'!
Ds didn't and I had arom right before birth and dd did have the nuchal hand and my water broke between push 1 and 2 (of total 3). I didn't tear, pushing was extrememly fast, but also very furious. (3 min) I laughed when my mw told me later that she had a nuchal hand, I said, 'I knew it!'. She was 8lb4 oz, for the record, and my ds was only 6lb 9oz.
A

[langdonslady]

My 10 lb 2 oz baby boy born at home after previous caesarean, was born 'en caul' (the membranes never ruptured and his head was born with the sac around it) yet he was also born with nuchal hand. And only 1st degree tears (happy proud dance)!
But at least from my experience, you can have the amniotic sac completely unbroken until the head delivers right into it (the bag bulged out first, yet still didn't break), but still have a nuchal hand.

[langdonslady]

You mean you think the rupture of membranes was why you pushed so long? Oh right! The membrane smooths things along, so to speak! My 10+ lb HBAC (which had nuchal hand too... ) was born en caul, ... the sac never broke until his head emerged into it, and I think that's why I only pushed for 41 minutes. Man, I can't imagine how I could have kept that up for 2 hours! HUGS!

[langdonslady]

Originally Posted by yeahwhat

It definitely did not effect pushing for me. Once srom happened, I got an overwhelming urge to push on the next contraction and baby girl arrived in one long push.

I'd never thought to connect the terrible back pain I had during the last 30 minutes or so with the position of her elbow. I guess that's a possible explanation.

You know, I had forgotten all about that part! Yes, the nuchal arm was what caused me to have pain and pressure in the rectum with each contraction and push! Since I had had back labor in the previous breech c/sec, I was no stranger to this pain, because I had had the rectal pain and pressure then too. I was just grateful this time that the pain went away between contractions, unlike last time. The HBAC went well all things considered, and between the big head, and the nuchal arm, maybe I got off easy with skidmarks and 1st degree tears. And yes, I was in the hands/knees squat. Didn't know it put more pressure on the perineum. Not that it would have mattered; I just felt I HAD to be in that position.

[langdonslady]

Originally Posted by busybusymomma

I had to push hard and give an extra push. My previous babe (1oz bigger) had practically fallen out because I had that ejection reflex going. I still had the reflex feeling with my nuchal hand baby too, but she didn't come out as easily.

It definitely changed the pushing stage and I think it could have caused some probs if my pelvis wasn't so roomy, and if I hadn't already given birth twice. Who knows though.

Omigosh! Thank you for the link to what an ejection reflex is! That described exactly what happened when I had DS. It was absolutely not something I could have stopped, or done on purpose. It was more like the feeling you get when you projectile vomit... your body takes completely over, and you are at the mercy of events, and have to ride through it come what may. That's how the pushing was! And I wasn't aware of my midwives, the doula, or DH, or anything at that point. Hope I am not posting too many replies. This has been quite an education.

[3cuties]

I didn't have AROM for my last delivery and my daughter was born with a nuchal hand. My first two I did have AROM and no nuchal hand. So I don't see any relation. Additionally, my daughter still sleeps with her hand like that.

[MiaMama]

Originally Posted by Spark

My posterior nuchal hand baby was my smallest (most room to get all turned around?) and my most painful and odd process of labor

I only have one baby, but she was very small, and had a nuchal hand. She was delivered over an intact perineum, but since she was posterior, I believe her hand/arm is what tore my labia. He little fist was right under her chin and I didn't even realize it until I saw the pictures that her daddy took of her crowning. It only took one stitch to repair, so it wasn't that bad of a tear. I had SROM after 16+ hours of labor. It was a gentle, long labor, until the OB decided I needed pit. It was shortly after the pit started that my water broke, then I convinced them to turn it off and I finished the rest of the way on my own.

[Banana731]

Originally Posted by langdonslady

But at least from my experience, you can have the amniotic sac completely unbroken until the head delivers right into it (the bag bulged out first, yet still didn't break), but still have a nuchal hand.

nak

that is what happened with dd2. i felt her hand tickling me right above my clitoris, but on the inside for a week or 2 prior to labor. my water broke on the last push(i pushed for about 1 1/2 hrs). her entire body came out in that one push, and i believe that she would have been born in the caul and that i wouldn't have torn if i had pushed her out slower. i was tired, and afraid that i wouldn't make it much longer. i had a small tear down( i uc'ed, so no stitches) my husband said it just looked like the skin tore, and also something happened to my labia, because i could feel it-both healed in a couple days though, so it couldn't have been that bad.

also, FWIW, my labor pattern was all over the place, no consistency at all. i almost went to the hospital when i my body started to push because i thought there was no was i could be complete. no break in ctx, no discernable transition. luckily a wonderful MW talked me down via VIOP! (i live overseas)

[coobabysmom]

Oh! I like seeing this thread resurrected.

I no longer think my AROM (at 9.5cm) caused ds nuchal hand at birth. I now am assuming his hand was just there prior to & during labor and probably wouldn't have moved even if I didn't have the AROM.

Banana731

also, FWIW, my labor pattern was all over the place, no consistency at all. i almost went to the hospital when i my body started to push because i thought there was no was i could be complete. no break in ctx, no discernable transition. luckily a wonderful MW talked me down via VIOP! (i live overseas)

Interesting... My entire labor pattern was also all over the place-no consistency of length between contrx or lenght of contrx ever during the whole 24hrs of it. However I did have breaks between contrx and about 2 minutes of tears and fears over going to the hospital, which I assume was transition.

Does anyone think nuchal hands/arms have something to do with this kind of labor?

I do believe the pushing stage was more difficult due to the nuchal hand- it probably took longer, hurt more than labor and I did tear. Healing took 9mos., but I now feel great, um, down there!

[Peppamint]

Originally Posted by coobabysmom

Does anyone think nuchal hands/arms have something to do with this kind of labor?

I do! It seems like malpresentations and nuchal extremeties can, and often do, cause odd labor patterns and they also seem to affect pushing urges. Ya know, the mom will say something like "Wow, this just doesn't feel as effective as last time [previous birth]", comments like that.