United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Thanks for all the help
I have 6 pictures of bruising on my abdomen taken 4 days after delivery.the bruise is about 3 inches long and 2 inches thick.while delivering my son I had no doctor and 2 nurses.I along with all in the room with me rememder the one extra large nurse literally punching my hip bone and up along my belly.that alone was excruating !!!!!!
I asked about the bruise and she said it was due to infection...glad vie got pictures
Any who...medical report does say a mcroberts maneuver was preformed..I just don't understand the punching of my stomach...and my legs never went higher then when I started...gosh..I'm seeing red and could beat that nurse.what do y'all do with the anger..it's already been a year almost and I can't stand to bring it up

12 1/2 years later and still angry...it never really goes away, just fades, I guess. We are so busy trying to make things right, don't really think about the anger, but it is still and probably is there...forever.

Supposedly the doctor and nurses that delivered my daughter performed the McRobert's maneuver. Similarly, NO ONE was holding my legs up to my chest, but in addition, the nurse that was supposed to be pushing on my belly was so gentle, there's no way it did anything...I barely even felt her pushing. The whole thing was not even coordinated and there was no communication between the doctor and nurses.

McRobert's is when the legs are hyperflexed toward your head, so picture your knees being bent, someone holding onto your foot and pushing it back toward your head with your knees wide apart. Does this make sense? You can google it and see images of the maneuver as well for a better visual. It sounds like one of two things might have been being done by the nurse you describe. 1...she was attempting suprapubic pressure where you push down near the pubic bone to try to dislodge the baby's shoulder or 2...she was doing fundal pressure where you push down on the top of the uterus, otherwise known as the fundus which doesn't dislodge the impacted shoulder, but rather can cause further injury to the baby. I wouldn't be able to accurately determine which she was trying to attempt for a couple reasons. 1...I was not there, and 2...I am not sure where the bruising was located on your abdomen from your post. Bruising from infection...interesting comment, but once again I was not there and do not know all of the details. When suprapubic pressure is done, it is done with force as you are trying to dislodge the sholder from behind the pubic bone (or rather roll it). It isn't gently pressing on the area, but rather most nurses, midwives, doctors will apply much force and sometimes will even appear to crawl into the bed next to the woman so they can get leverage depending on how high the bed is in the air and how tall the person is doing the suprapubic pressure. Bruising and soreness after this maneuver can occur.

I hope this helps you get a better picture of what McRobert's vs. suprapubic vs. fundal pressure is. I'm sorry you've ever had to learn about it in the first place. Have a great weekend.

Tanya in NY
Amber's Mom, ROBPI, 7 years old