History
Prior to the arrival of C/S the fetus usually died during protracted labor and the mother's life was at risk as well due to infection, uterine rupture and bleeding. On occasion, if the baby was macerated and small, it collapsed sufficiently to be delivered. The shoulder presentation was a feared obstetrical complication.
In 1690 Justine Siegemundin, a German midwife, published Die Kgl. Preußische und Chur-Brandenburgische Hof-Wehemutter. This treatise for midwives demonstrated abnormal presentations at birth and their management. She was the first to describe a two-handed method of performing an internal rotation of the baby to extract it as a breech (a variation of which is performed today on the second twin, see above) using a sling. The procedure was useful provided the fetus was not impacted. Once the uterus had contracted around the baby tightly, destructive interventions were used to save the life of the mother.
Read more about this topic: Shoulder Presentation
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