Clinical Nursing Implications
As evidenced by the data from this secondary qualitative analysis, traumatic shoulder dystocia is a terrifying experience for both mothers and labor and delivery nurses. This potentially catastrophic event is fraught with myriad of terrifying emotions on both sides. The nurse’s role in shoulder dystocia has been addressed by Camune and Brucker(2007), Mahlmeister (2008), and Jevitt, Morse, and O’Donnell (2008) . In these articles best practices for risk identification and management of shoulder dystocia are detailed. Mnemoics such as BE CALM (Camune & Brucker, 2007) and HELPERR (American Academy of shoulder dystocia occurs. Providing emotional support to the mother during shoulder dystocia and afterward in the postpartum period is acknowledged.