Newborn with Fractured Collar Bone

Hi there, I had two babies born with broken bones. One with a broken collar bone, and one with a broken arm. The collar bone healed up quickly, maybe a month. The broken arm took longer. I dressed them in a lot of soft, overall type outfits, and nightgowns that tied, so that I didn't have to lift their arms up too much. I also kept them swaddled when being held by others, and even tied a large cloth diaper around them to act as a sling to hold it in place. Whatever position seems most comfortable for them. Hint: If you are nursing, it is easy to want to baby that side of them by nursing on the side that allows for their hurt side to be out. But beware, I did this, and ended up getting a breast infection from being so engorged on the opposite side. So I suggest using the football hold to nurse on that side. Also I used the bathtub as a place to let my babies float and relax their broken bones, I feel that the water was like physical therapy for them. Happy healing!

when my 2 year old was born he has a broken collar bone. We found out when he was two days old, my ped was doing an exam and said his collar bone was broken he thought. After xrays he sent us to phisical theraphy. They said it would cause no problem and would heal just fine. To this day you would even know unless I said something.He turned out fine, we did do the phisical theraphy for about a month, but it was by choice. I belive it took a couple month for it to heal completley.

Hi,
My daughter fractured her collar bone at 2 years old (tripping on her lovey on the stairs). She was supposed to wear a splint to immobilize her arm (which she did not do-surprise, surprise!) Long story short- she healed beautifully and quickly, approx. 3 weeks max. The doctor said it's probably better the younger your child is because they heal so easily. Not to worry!!! Because your daughter is so young and limited in movement, she will heal probably even more rapidly!

Hi C.,

My son's collar bone was fractured when he was born. It's very common, especially with large babies. They heal amazingly well, so you don't need to worry much about it. Just be a little extra careful when handling that side of her, but you don't need to go over the top. It'll be fine. Really. :)

Doctors usually say to try to keep it immobilized for 10-14 days, so you're kinda towards the end of that anyway. I used the infant brace for my little girl when she broke her collarbone and it really seemed to help. It sounds like your little girl was mostly ok, but mine was in obvious pain and even stopped breastfeeding for 18 hours. The infant brace help to stop her from moving her arm and seemed to tone down her pain a bit as a result. you can find them www.infantbrace.com

Hi C.,
This actually happens more than you would think. Very, very common. The wonderful thing is that it should heal within 10-14 days. You might be able to feel a little bump over the healing site originally and that's just the calcification of the bone healing. That bump will go away as your baby continues to grow. The other wonderful thing is that there are no bad affects or poor outcomes that I'm aware of. They usually heal up just fine on their own and it doesn't impede them in any way as they get older. Two things you can do in the meantime: 1, put them in a neutral position, which means, whatever position seems to make your baby most comfortable. Believe me, if she is in pain, she will let you know, and 2, I would give Tylenol every 8 hours or so, because it does hurt, and if you or I had a broken clavicle, we would definitely medicate ourselves! Just make sure you give the appropriate amount and go by weight. You should be giving 10 mg per kg with each dose. A kilogram is 2.2 pounds, so that makes 22mg every 2.2 lbs...you'll have to do the math from there, or look on the back of the Infant Tylenol drops for the weight range dosage. You'll probably only be given 1/2 dropperful, unless you have a big baby. Just know it's very normal, doesn't cause any lifelong problems and the body fixes it itself very quickly. God bless.

Hi,
My son was also born with a broken collarbone & our Dr. told us it would heal on it's own in about 6 weeks. Don't pick him up under the arms & get the undershirts that snap down the front instead of go over the head. Swaddle with arm across chest & don't let too many other people hold him so his arm won't be jostled around by others who don't understand his injury.
He is now 3y.o. & doing great.
Good luck!

C.

37 years ago I was born with a cracked collar bone and healed perfectly fine with no complications. Not to worry.

Hello,
I just found out my 3 week old had broken his collar bone too.. The doctor sounded like it should heal just fine, and he didnt tell me to do anything special. I was wondering if you took your little one to a specialist and recommend me doing the same thing.

I would suggest the infant brace at https://infantbrace.com/

My son had the same thing at birth and they didn't figure it out until he was 3 days old. Anyway, the dr. said that you just try and avoid that side to keep them comfortable for about a week. Then it heals on its own. I know its scary but your baby will be fine. Our son is now 4 months old and he is perfect!!! Good luck and congratulations!!! =)

My daughters' collar bone was also fractured at birth. I was SO upset and worried! They said she'd be in some pain for awhile, hard to say how long. Then it would just take time for it to heal(6 months for complete healing). Be sure to take her to a specialist that willtake xrays to know the extent of the injury(sometimes it's worse or not as bad as your pediatrician can "feel").
We bought her a lot of head to toe button up outfits that we could slide her arm into. We were told raising her arm to get it into a pull over shirt/outfit would be more painful for her. Try to scoop her up(hand on back) from the side that is hurt, instead of lifting her under that arm. Be sure other people who hold her know to be careful with her arm. The doc said the least amount of pressure and strain on that area, the better for pain and healing. Good luck.