The moment of childbirth is part of a very emotional moment, many women await this day with great anticipation. A birth can be eutocic and pass without complications or it can be a dystocic labor when it can be altered for some kind of complication.
As a general rule, births should not be of concern, since they generally are resolved without complications. But there may be cases in which they can be difficult, so we are going to exemplify what are the possible cases in which they can be difficult.
What is dystocic labor?
Dystocic labor It is characterized when the woman have difficulty expelling your baby at the time of delivery. There is a factor or several factors that interfere, causing complications, where there are many difficulties to proceed with a normal delivery.
There is a possibility that the birth of the baby will be complicated, and in this case both the fetus and the mother suffer. If the work does not proceed normally and takes much longer than expected, some kind of solution must be sought, even if it is mechanical.
This type of delivery cannot be predicted if there have been no clear signs before that could predict it. It is called as “obstructed labor” which entails all the difficulties that may arise in the birth of the baby. There are two types of labor categories that are exposed in dystocic labor:
- mechanical dystocia: when its development is linked by the physical characteristics of the baby or the mother.
- Dynamic dystocia: when labor progresses with difficulty due to problems in the dilation of the cervix.
The phase of dystopic labor is much longer than normal, so it can drag on for a long time and becomes stressful for the mother. The contractions they can become much larger in order to facilitate the expulsion of the baby and what could cause a rupture of the uterus. The baby may also be suffering from poor oxygenation and the situation could be aggravated, so rapid expulsion measures should be taken.
Causes of the development of dystocic labor
There are many causes that can cause a alteration in the evolution and development of childbirth. The reasons may be associated with the baby in various cases such as those explained below:
- The baby can come with overweight and that makes it difficult to expel.
- The fact that has not fitted properly into the birth canal, that he is on his buttocks or that he shows some of his shoulders because he is positioned obliquely.
- An head malformation, being able to have a meningoencephalocele (a hernia that forms in the skull with brain tissue present), or an increase in the volume of your head due to a hyphrocephaly.
- Their shoulders can be very broad, which is called shoulder dystocia.
When the reasons may be due to physical problems of the mother:
- narrow pelvisWhere will a caesarean section be performed?
- Contractions too weak or arrhythmic.
- Some cervix problem due to some previous surgical intervention or some type of disease.
- When they occur too much effort to expel the baby without being effective.
- due to obesity, being a risk factor and producing shoulder dystocia.
How to solve a dystocia childbirth?
The first solution that can be applied is to try to make the mother calm and adopt a different postural position than the initial one, in case their expulsion could be accelerated much better. Sometimes the classic posture for its expulsion is not adequate.
oxytocin can be given to accentuate the contractions or the application of a prostaglandin gel vaginally.
as last way some kind of equipment will be used to aid his expulsion. The suction cup, forceps or spatula are some of the instruments used and in some cases episiotomy is performed. With this, an incision will be made at the exit of the vagina to facilitate the use of these devices and that unwanted tears cannot be caused.
In extreme cases and with no way out, it will be used caesarean section as necessary and emergency case. An operating room must be prepared and the mother placed under general or epidural anesthesia. In this step, the mother's abdomen must be opened so that the baby can be extracted without any suffering.