Introduction:
The period after the delivery of a baby is called the postpartum period. Women go through many changes in the postpartum phase, from breastfeeding to the uterine and menstrual cycle changes. In addition, although giving birth can lead to physical problems like pelvic organ prolapse or damage to muscles in the pelvic region via vaginal birth, it can also result in some neurological problems like nerve damage. Among all the other changes, paralysis can too occur. Still, it is mostly rare to occur after the delivery. However, when it occurs, it happens because pregnant women undergo a significant strain on carrying a baby for nine months.
What Is Postpartum?
The postpartum period is the period or interval between the birth of the child and the return of the women's body and reproductive organs to their normal non-pregnant state. It lasts for six to eight weeks. During the postpartum period, the woman's body secretes milk for breastfeeding the baby, regressive changes in the uterus and vagina are noticed, and progressive changes for maintaining the woman's normal menstrual cycle are initiated.
What Is Paralysis?
Paralysis is a nervous system problem and occurs when the patient is unable to make voluntary movements. When a nerve gets injured, it usually causes paralysis. The uninjured nerves send signals to the muscles to move by sensing. When the nerve gets injured, it cannot move certain parts of the body. Paralysis occurs along with the symptoms like loss of sensation and loss of muscle control with numbness and tingling sensation in the limbs. There are different types of paralysis. They are:
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Diplegia - It is paralysis occurring in the same area on both sides.
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Hemiplegia - It is paralysis that occurs on one side of the body, affecting an arm or leg on the same side.
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Monoplegia - It is paralysis that occurs in one limb, arm, or leg, and the patient cannot move.
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Paraplegia - It is paralysis that occurs in both legs.
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Quadriplegia - It is paralysis occurring in all the extremities. The patient who is suffering from it cannot show any movement or little movement from the region below the neck.
What Is Postpartum Paralysis?
Postpartum paralysis is paralysis that results after the delivery of a baby in a woman. Paralysis is a rare symptom that appears after a child's delivery. It occurs when the woman's nerve gets damaged while delivering the baby. As the pregnancy period progresses for about nine months, the baby starts getting larger and larger with every passing month. In addition, the natural process of pregnancy can sometimes cause compression over the lower limb nerves. All this forms a very deliberating condition. On delivery of the baby, the mother can develop paralysis.
Why Does Postpartum Paralysis Happen?
The human body has a particular nervous system with specialized cells called neurons that helps to send signals or messages from body to brain and from brain to body. These signals help to control body movements and feel sensations of the body. It also controls the limbs to walk and stop. The pelvic area also comprises dozens of nerves that control the signals and sensations of the legs. The prolonged pressure over these pelvic nerves during pregnancy, labor pains, and delivery can cause problems in controlling the legs, and one such example is femoral nerve damage that can cause paralysis due to prolonged compression.
What Causes Postpartum Paralysis?
The cause of postpartum paralysis is nerve damage occurring while delivering the baby. The mother goes through a lot of transformation during pregnancy, and the baby, with every passing month, starts to grow larger and heavier, with a strain forming at the femoral nerve due to prolonged compression. At the same time, the injury is mainly caused when the baby's head or other body parts presses the mother's pelvic region and nerves during the time of delivery. The injury further causes the mother to have paralysis in one or both legs.
Another main reason lies in postpartum paralysis, due to over-usage of the anesthetic agents can lead the new mother to paralysis. So, the doctor should be very careful while administering the anesthesia. If too much anesthesia is administered to the patient it can hamper the symptoms of developing paralysis.
What Type of Paralysis Occurs in Postpartum Paralysis and Are They Permanent?
Paraplegia, in which both legs are involved, or monoplegia involving one leg only, usually occurs in postpartum paralysis. So it is because nerve damage can occur at any point in the pelvic region, so accordingly, paralysis leads. Postpartum paralysis is typically temporary, as it can resolve over time. But such nerve damage takes time and has a long-term effect on the new mother.
What Happens After Postpartum Paralysis?
After postpartum paralysis, some symptoms develop, like
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Partial loss of movement of the legs.
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Numbness of legs.
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Dull aching pain in the genital region.
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Lower body muscle weakness.
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Difficulty in stretching the knees.
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Heaviness is felt over the leg.
How Can It Be Prevented?
Paralysis conditions can be prevented by avoiding nerve damage in pregnant women. It could be done by administering the proper amount of anesthesia. The use of too much anesthesia in cases of delivery can ultimately lead to loss of feeling and sensation over the legs and the body. Even the patient getting anesthesia could not feel or judge any problems. The doctor should avoid paresthesia with the anesthesia technique used and use pain-free injections of local anesthesia instead.
Conclusion:
Postpartum paralysis is a very rare condition that develops after the delivery of the baby. Very few cases have been reported of postpartum paralysis. The patient with postpartum paralysis deals with many issues, from handling the newborn baby for breastfeeding to handling them. The paralysis can be of both legs or of one leg only and the leading cause can be nerve damage during labor or overdose of anesthesia. And, prolonged compression over the nerves in the pelvic region can cause nerve damage as a state of strain is formed there in the long period of pregnancy. However, it can be prevented by using the proper amount of anesthesia during delivery, along with a pain-free injection anesthesia technique. This can prevent complications in the mother and improve the living condition as they embrace motherhood.
