Shoulder dystocia: Updating some medico-legal issues

Shoulder dystocia, or shoulder entrapment at birth, is an obstetrician’s nightmare, which not infrequently leads to court litigation with complaints of serious foetal and/or maternal damage. Increasingly, retrospective management scrutiny is extending well beyond second stage birth mechanics and involving all case file entries, history taking, ultrasound scan measurements and haematology profile results, etc. The article highlights some medico-legal issues including the influence of the Montgomery ruling on patient disclosure and subsequent management.