Patient's question:
My relative's child is a breech birth baby. On the first day of birth, the right arm couldn't be lifted when sleeping, but the fingers could move. My relative wasn't sure what it was, so they took the child to a doctor for a comprehensive examination, who discovered it was neonatal brachial plexus injury and they were very worried. Could you please tell me what are the factors that cause neonatal brachial plexus injury?Doctor's answer:
When a newborn is born, traction or compression of the brachial plexus nerve in the fetus's abdomen is the main cause of neonatal brachial plexus injury. The most common injury is to the upper trunk of the brachial plexus. Symptoms such as asymmetry or dysfunction of the upper limb (from the scapula to the fingers), such as the inability to abduct and lift the shoulder joint, the inability to flex and extend the elbow joint, and the flexion of the wrist joint, but muscle weakness should be considered as brachial plexus injury (obstetric palsy). Since brachial plexus injury is often accompanied by bleeding around the arm, and ultimately leads to adhesion and scar formation, early treatment can prevent adhesion, prevent scar formation, and promote early recovery of the peripheral nerves. Therefore, for neonatal brachial plexus injury, passive observation is better than early treatment. The earlier the treatment, the fewer the scars formed. Therefore, early rehabilitation treatment is recommended.