O33.6: Maternal care for disproportion due to hydrocephalic fetus

During your pregnancy it was thought, or it was established, that the size of your pelvis and the size of your child are not a good match.

In the pelvis there are various pelvic bones. At the back of the body the pelvic bones are connected to the sacrum of the spinal column. There is a joint on either side of the sacrum for this purpose. The pelvic bones plus the sacrum form the bony pelvic ring or girdle. In front, the pelvic bones are tightly joined to one another by ligaments and cartilage fiber.

The size of your pelvis and the size of your child are not a good match because your child’s head is unusually large. The reason for its large head is that cerebrospinal fluid has accumulated in its skull. There are cavities with cerebrospinal fluid in the brain, around the brain and around the spinal cord. Among other things, the cerebrospinal fluid cushions the brain and spinal cord during knocks and also nourishes the brain cells.

The cerebrospinal fluid is produced in the cavities in the brain. The various cavities for cerebrospinal fluid are connected to one another. So the cerebrospinal fluid is able to flow through the different cavities in the brain to the space around the brain and the spinal cord. The cerebrospinal fluid is broken down in the cavity around the brain. There is usually a balance between how much cerebrospinal fluid is generated and how much cerebrospinal fluid is reabsorbed.

If the cerebrospinal fluid is unable to flow unhindered out of the cavities in the brain, it can accumulate there.

If the size of the pelvis and the child are not a good match, this can cause problems and, for example, make the birth take longer or make a Caesarean necessary.