Infant Can Move Fingers on the Right but Not the Arm

Needs to be seen by a doctor. Sometimes a shoulder or arm is broken in the birth process, or it could be a neuological problem, hopefully temporary.

it sounds like the baby has Erb's palsy. it is usually caused by a traumatic birth. The baby should see a dr and get into occuapational therapy for an evaulation ASAP. Hope this helps you can google Erb's palsy on the internet. The good news is the baby is young and most likely the trauma to the nerve will correct itself.

Hi R. - It sounds like the baby has a brachial plexopathy (also called Erb's Palsy), which is when the brachial plexus nerve ennervating (activates the shoulder muscles) the shoulder gets stretched, stressed or damaged during delivery. Some believe it can also happen in utero from baby positioning as well. This can happen in babies of all sizes. Most cases resolve on their own. In a minority of cases they don't. This is something for a pediatric neurologist or other qualified pediatrician to look at, not a chiropractor - you can't "adjust" the nerve or fix it with that modality of treatment. It has to heal over time basically and the sooner your friend gets it checked the better, so therapy can be prescribed if necessary. She should also follow all therapy recommendations - I've seen cases where parents have blown this off to the child's detriment. Good luck to her.

Do you know if the hospital checked for a broken collar bone on the side you refer to? Baby being so big she could have had this happen and it can cause nerve damage as well. The reason I am telling you this is because, my son who was just born at 8 lbs with a extremely easy delivery ended up with a broken collar bone on his left side. However he is moving the arm and hand no problem now. His doctor however was asking if we noticed him not moving his arm or hand and also has told us to tell her if he stops using it or doesn't seem to want to use it. Another thing the hospital didn't find the fracture it was the pediatrician who examined him the next morning after birth who found it. Best of luck to your friend.

Very large babies can have their bones broken while being born. In 1972, my brother-in-law suffered from a broken collar bone when he was born at 9lbs, 8oz. In 2000, my niece broke her collar bone while being born as well. She wasn't quite 9lbs. I would absolutely have this new baby checked out. My mil says that they didn't realize that bil's collar bone was broken for several weeks! The doctor didn't even know! Poor baby! I would absolutely have this baby checked for broken bones! I hope everything turns out ok!

Hi, yes I had the exact same issue. My son was 10.2 and his arm got stuck. They told me erbs palsy and that was devstating. We also took him to Henry ford to see a specialist. We were very blessed in that after a few weeks, the problem went away. Hope the same for your friend.

Hi R.,
I understand your friends concern. I agree with most of the responses. More than likely during the delivery the baby sustained some trauma to its cervical spine (neck) which resulted in lack of function of the fingers. It is also possible that along with this trauma, that the clavicle was broken as well. I suggest you go to a pediatric chiropractor. You can find one at www.mcpakids.org. Call me if you have any questions. ###-###-####. -Dr. Heather S., DC,CACCP

I work for a medical malpractice attorney and we see cases of brachial plexus palsy, or Erb's Palsy, usually when the baby is large and cannot fit down the birth canal and a stretching or tearing of the nerves occurs. The sooner your friend takes her daughter to a specialist, the better. Mild cases may resolve by the time a child is school age with the proper therapy and treatment. In more severe cases, the child will never regain full use of the arm, but may regain some use with therapy, surgery, and the proper treatment. The baby needs to be evaluated soon!

Wikipedia Erbs Palsy. It affects the arm during birth and does go away. I think sometimes it goes away on its own or with therapy. I do know someone else whose baby had this and it has resolved and the arm functions just like the other now.

This is JUST speculation...but a baby that size could have suffered some nerve damage during delivery. I have a friend whose baby had nerve damage during delivery and couldn't move the one of his arms at all. His arm also didn't grow properly. He has had several surgeries to repair it. It took alot of time, as they had to do the surgeries as he grew and he had physical therapy. He is a teenager now and as far as I know the surgeries and therapy were successful. All the best to her and baby!

My uncle was a large baby and my grandmother was a very small woman at 4' 10". My uncle was born paralyzed on one side of his body. He went through therapy from birth to age 2. He is fine now. He does have some eyesight trouble but that's about it. I wish your friend luck. :)

R. ~
I'm an OB nurse and have seen this happen more than once.
It could be that since the baby was large, there could have been a shoulder dystocia ... which means that the shoulder was stuck during the delivery. Sometimes it results in a palsy of that arm, which sometimes can resolve on it's own or maybe with physical therapy. Sometimes, unfortunatly, it doesn't resolve completely. She should go to the specialist so that therapy can be started right away.
D.

Hi R.,

Two thoughts come to mind about your friend's baby. The most likely cause, if she gave birth vaginally, is that the baby (being bigger) broke it's collar bone during the birth process. It's a little common in bigger babies. She would have probably heard a loud sound when that happened. Another possibility that comes to mind it that maybe a nerve was irritated either during the pregnancy, caused by position in the womb, or during birth. I hope her little one is feeling better and moving her arm all over in no time.

A friend of mine's son broke his collarbone coming out. Possibility? Worth checking out, good idea with a specialist. J. - mom to a 16 and 10 year old.

10lb 4oz that's a tight squeeze, I'd be going to a specialist too, after a chiropractor.
Best of luck to your friend & baby. A. H

It can happen that a baby dislocates a shoulder during the birth process- I am sure that the doctors will check this right away. Hope she gets good care.
M.

Erbs Palsy my son was born with it and can only move his hand and fingers as well

Lot's of times, esp. with bigger babies, the clavicle breaks during delivery. It's fairly common, but wouldn't be xrayed unless baby showed symptoms. Have her ask the doc.

~L.

Ok...sorry but I need to know...since when is it Medical Malpractice when a baby is too big for the moms birth canal? Did the doc put the baby there? Did the doc decide the baby's weight? Is is possible to accurately tell the weight of a baby and whether or not mom will have trouble pushing baby through? ...a resounding NO! With so many moms REFUSING prenatal care and turning their backs on Drs advice on C-sections...it is ridiculous to blame the docs! Don't you think that if the doc had control of the situation, he/she would have delivered a perfect baby under perfect circumstances???? No wonder people can't afford to see the doc anymore...docs are getting sued for things that only God can control!!!!!!