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A Forceps Delivery
When Forceps are Necessary to Speed Up Baby's Arrival
By Kendeyl Johansen
The use of forceps results in a low rate of serious injury to newborns, report UC Davis obstetricians in the New England Journal of Medicine. When forceps are used correctly by an experienced physician, they are safe for the baby. "Possible risks to the baby include facial nerve palsy (often transient) and blood accumulations between the skull bone and the tissue underlying it," Dr. Bowling says. "The blood accumulations often resolve weeks to months after delivery." Forceps are rarely associated with skull fractures.
According to Dr. Bowling, the choice of forceps or vacuum extraction is a matter of operator preference. A vacuum extractor is a metal or plastic cup attached to the baby's head. It uses suction to help guide the baby out of the birth canal. Indications for vacuum and forceps are the same. "Vacuum deliveries are associated with less trauma to the vagina but have been associated with cephalhematoma (an extensive, soft swelling on the scalp of a newborn which is not serious and doesn't require treatment) and retinal hemorrhage (bleeding into the retina of the eye)," Dr. Bowling says.
A forceps delivery isn't optimal, but when instrument intervention is necessary, forceps can save lives. Petite Danusia Malina of Midlands, UK faced a forceps delivery when her baby turned out larger than expected and was too far down in the birth canal for a C-section. "It's important not to feel a failure where the birthing woman hoped for a non-interventionist delivery," she says. Malina came to terms with her forceps delivery after realizing it was best for her baby.
All mothers hope for an easy, uncomplicated birth. But, all mothers should discuss forceps use with their doctor just in case, asking if and when they would be used during delivery.
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