SIDS

Question:
Dear Dr. Haley:
I read with great interest your article posted on the Internet regarding birth trauma and resulting Erbs Palsy. My son was over 11 lbs and suffered a traumatic birth which resulted in Erbs Palsy of his left arm and he has the waiter's tip positioning in his hand. He is scheduled for surgery on October 21st. My question is this: you mention stillbirth and sudden infant death syndrome. Obviously, my son was not stillborn because he's sleeping in his crib right now, but he did have a 1-minute apgar of only 4. His highest apgar was 8 (I believe) after 5 minutes. Does he stand a greater than normal chance of succumbing to SIDS because of this injury? When I read this I was stopped in my tracks, it scared me so much! To almost lose him once, then perhaps lose him again because of this injury.... I would really appreciate it if you could get back to me regarding this matter. I'm very concerned, needless to say.

Reply:
Dear Mrs. Roberts,
Thank you for your interest in the Erb's palsy article. I am sorry for creating fear. My intent is to create an awareness, not fear.

Regarding Apgar, Towbin writes:

"Moreover, during the last part of delivery, during the final extraction of the fetus, mechanical stress imposed by obstetrical manipulation - even the application of standard orthodox procedures - may prove intolerable to the fetus. The view has been expressed clinically that most signs of neonatal injury observed in the delivery room are neurological, that the Apgar test, now widely applied after delivery in appraising respiratory action, cardiac function, muscle tone, reflex irritability and other elementary signs in the newborn, is in essence an appraisal of the presence or absence of injury to the brain stem and spinal cord."

An injured central nervous system (brain & spinal cord) works less than 100%. The nervous system is the control system for the body. In your sons case, it is possible only the brachial plexus (peripheral nerves) was damaged. Of course, I have no way of knowing this. Regardless, my experience shows me that chiropractic adjustments help people (big or small) get better. When the spine functions better, the nervous system works better. I want to encourage you to take your son to a chiropractor that does pediatric adjusting. A pediatric chiropractor will probably advertise family care or specializing in pediatrics. I would avoid chiropractors that advertise pain relief as their selling point. It may take a few weeks of care before results show. You have time before the surgery to give it a try. It is much safer, more promising, and non expensive.

To answer your question, the literature I have read relates birth traumas with SIDS. Towbin points out that 7 of 8 SIDS infant autopsies he performed demonstrated spinal injury with neurovascular damage. Spinal injury with nerve damage (called subluxation) is the most frequently treated condition by chiropractors. We get great results.

I hope this information helps. Please write back if you have further questions. Pray about the right course of care.

God Bless You,
Michael Haley, D.C.

Towbin A., "Latent Spinal Cord and Brain Stem Injury in Newborn Infants", Develop, Med. Child Neurol. 1969, 11, 54-68.