Living with a traumatic birth

by Fiona Tyrell © 2009 irishtimes.com
MY SON Fiachra was born in the Louth County Hospital in Dundalk in September 1994 after a very traumatic birth. It was a pretty harrowing experience for all of us. He had to be extracted and suffered extensive injury.
He was sent to the special care unit in Drogheda Hospital where we were told there was a problem with his arm as well as breathing issues. Then he was sent on to Crumlin hospital.
Seeing your new baby surrounded by beeping monitors is not pleasant. You spend your time trying to guess what the waves and numbers mean. You wonder if one figure goes from 100 to 75, “is it a good or bad thing?”
A breathing difficulty was Fiachra’s main issue initially and after four weeks an MRI gave the diagnosis of Erb’s palsy. We were told that the phrenic nerve from spinal chord to the left diaphragm had been torn off during birth and was interfering with his breathing.
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