A Hip Spica Cast is a cast that is placed on an infant (normally) from the waist to the ankles. It encompasses both legs in a "spread eagle" position. Samantha had to be put into this cast when she was about 10 weeks old. Why? She was born with two dislocated hips at birth. Within minutes after birth, the midwife that delivered her (and the pediatrician) discovered a "hip click". After an ultrasound on her hips, it was discovered that the ball and socket joints at the hips weren't formed properly, hence the dislocation of the hips. We were told that this condition usually occurs in first born girls (which she is) and usually those of Italian decent (thanks dad). The other cause is a breach birth, which she wasn't. The first course of action to correcting the problem is putting her in a harness to try to bring the hips closer together to allow for development. You'll see her in this harness (which she wore for a month) in some of the pictures associated with this page. If the harness doesn't solve the problem, the next course of action is a Hip Spica Cast. The cast can remain on anywhere from 3-6 months. In Samantha's case, it was on for 9 weeks (it was supposed to be on for 12 weeks, but due to speedy development, she came out of it early).
The problem I had was lack of information, which is why I set this page and its links up. The doctor couldn't tell me what to expect or how to care for her. I had to learn on my own and develop my own techniques to caring for my daughter. There also wasn't any kind of "support group" that I could go to for advice, which made it even harder. So, I took to the Internet to try to find out information on what to do. I came across a few links that gave me some information:
American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons On-Line Service Home Page
Journal of Pediatric Medicine Online
But when all was said and done, it was a "live and learn" experience. I created a document, called Caring for a Hip Spica Cast to give other parents information on what to expect and how to care for a baby in this situation. I've also taken lots of pictures of Samantha in her cast to show others what she looked like. One of the links shows Samantha in traction. This had to be done prior to her getting the cast put on. She was placed in traction to stretch the muscles and ligaments before immobilizing her. The traction portion was the toughest part of the whole ordeal. She was in and out of traction for about a week and a half before the cast was put on.