Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 2, 2026
Development of a Neonatal Rat Model for Brachial Plexus Birth Injury
Published on: March 27, 2026
Correlating birthweight with neurological severity of obstetric brachial plexus lesions
W Pondaag1, R H Allen, M J A Malessy
1Department of Neurosurgery, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, the Netherlands. w.pondaag@lumc.nl
Objective:
To investigate the nature and extent of neurosurgically treated obstetric plexus lesions with obstetric and neonatal precedents.
Design:
Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data.
Setting:
Leiden, the Netherlands.
Population:
A 9-year cohort of infants (n = 206) neurosurgically treated for obstetric brachial plexus lesion at a tertiary referral centre for nerve lesions.
Method:
Obstetric and neonatal data (parity, diabetic status, pregnancy gestation, mode of cephalic delivery and birthweight) were collected using a standardised protocol and correlated to neurological severity of the brachial plexus lesion.
Main Outcome Measure:
Neurological severity of the brachial plexus lesion.
Results:
Nulliparous women delivered significantly lower birthweight newborns (P = 0.016), injuries in those infants were associated with the least severe injury classification. The most prominent association in ordinal logistic regression was between neurological injury severity and larger birthweight (P < 0.001).
Conclusions:
Birthweight is correlated with neurological severity of the injury in a group of infants experiencing brachial plexus injury resulting from cephalic vaginal delivery.
