Journal of obstetrics and gynaecology : the journal of the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
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The objective of the study was to assess the risk factors associated with obstetric brachial plexus injury. It was a retrospective analysis over a 7-year period, of women whose labours were either complicated by shoulder dystocia or had neonates who sustained brachial plexus injury. The 133 women included were divided into two groups: (1) Non-brachial plexus injury (Non-BPI) group: 106 women with labours complicated by shoulder dystocia. (2) Brachial plexus injury (BPI) group: 27 women whose neonates sustained BPI. ⋯ The neonatal variables were similar in both groups. Mean birth weight was more than 4 kg in both groups. In the presence of similar neonatal variables, brachial plexus injury is more likely to occur in neonates of primiparous women in the presence of shoulder dystocia, if labour is accelerated.