Kylie,
As others have said, checking for clicky hips is part of a normal neonatal
check whether performed by a midwife or a paediatrician or early childhood
nurse. Where I work it is done by the midwife at birth and by a paed prior
to discharge unless the parents are unwilling to wait (paeds are often
delayed by events in the special care nurseries etc.) In this case the
parents are advised to visit their local doctor within the week to check not
only the hips but also the heart as some congenital heart problems cannot be
picked up before 4 or so days. If mothers go home early and choose not to
have another check by LMO things can be missed even after two checks in
hospital. Some hip problems are hard to pick up anyhow. If the baby
presented as a frank breech, hip ultrasounds are organised by some
paediatricians as a routine investigation- this is denounced by many as an
unnecessary test; overservicing in fact. The most noticeable thing, often,
is the extra skin fold on the affected leg which can often be seen when the
baby is laying on her stomach. This is sometimes seen by the parents rather
than any health care professional.
I send my warmest best wishes for your little one, good luck.
Monica
----- Original Message -----
From: Kylie Carberry
To: ozmidwifery@acegraphics.com.au
Sent: Saturday, September 17, 2005 8:33 AM
Subject: [ozmidwifery] developmental hip dysplasia
Hi eveyone,
I am just wondering if anyone can enlighten me a little on my 18 month old
daughter just-diagnosed developmental hip dysplasia. I am still in
disbelief that this was not picked up when she was first born and my
paediatrician agreed. To make things worse he told us that in Wollongong
Hospital (where she was born) they used to have a paediatrician who did a
routine check for DDH on all of the newborns and all were picked up. To cut
costs the IAHS got rid of this service and according to my paed one or two
children are now overlooked. What angers me is that even with treatment,
because she is older, my daughter will face the possibiliity of having
ongoing hip problems. If anyone has any info on this condition (stories
you've heard etc) I would greatly appreciate it if you could get in touch
with me. Also, what is the general procedure for the testing the hips and
do you guys think a paediatric examination should be routine?
Thanks so much for having a read of my email,
Kylie Carberry
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
-- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit to subscribe or
unsubscribe.
--
This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics.
Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe.
