Compound Presentation

Compound presentation occurs when the part of the fetus closest to the birth canal (usually the head) presents with an extremity next to it (usually hand or arm) (1). This condition is extremely rare; it’s estimated to affect less than 0.004% of pregnancies. What causes compound presentation?  Compound presentation can occur as a result of...

When a newborn baby begins to have seizures, parents wonder what is causing the seizures, how neonatal seizures are treated, if seizures mean the baby has a brain injury, and if the baby will have lifelong problems. Parents also want to know if the medical team did something wrong during or near the time of birth that caused the baby to have a brain injury, resulting in seizures....

A baby’s cry at birth tells the medical team that their lungs are healthy. Often parents will hear a doctor praise their baby’s cry, but does this mean that a baby who doesn’t cry at birth is not as healthy? The science behind crying Apart from the signature sound of a baby’s cry, there are...

One common labor and delivery complication is the failure of the baby’s head to “engage” in the mother’s pelvis. This means that although the baby is otherwise ready to be born, their presenting body part has not yet moved into a position that will allow for a safe and comfortable birth. In some cases, this...

Introduction Worldwide, there are about 2.6 million stillbirths each year (1), 24,000 of which occur in the U.S. (2). Our rate of stillbirth is higher than that of many other developed nations. For example, it is more than double the rate in Iceland (3). This regional variation in stillbirths demonstrates that many of these deaths...