Use Of Forceps With A C/Section

[weemouse1]

Hi. My friend had her first baby recently. It was a planned section. The baby was apparently stuck, and they had to use forceps.
Her little baby is gorgeous, but had a drooping side to her face on birth. This has mostly resolved, but apparently she may have some permanent damage around her mouth, nothing too severe she has been told.
Was this caused by the forceps?
I'm just curious as I had never heard of forceps being used in a section before, would this mean that the baby was perhaps "too far" down?
The reasons given for the section were pretty minor, she was in a private hospital.
My friend has absolute faith in her Cons and doesn't seem to think anything is amiss. But my first thought was "did they do that to the baby"?
Not that I would necessarily say anything to my friend anyway, she is so happy. This is a very much longed for baby, following fertility treatment.

My first baby was wedged transverse and was pulled out via ELCS with forceps. I was astonished and my obstetrician said he used forceps much more with cs than vb.

I was born with forceps (vb not cs) and have permanent nerve damage around one of my eyes. My vision is totally fine but it's left me with a drooping eyelid and 'lazy' muscles around that eye. It was a lot worse when I was a child, when my eyelid just used to close completely when I was tired, so I'd lose my '3d' vision and get very clumsy - but it's still noticeable and there's nothing to be done about it.

I've,posted about this before, but it really gets my back up that the NHS has nothing at all to say on the subject of permanent damage as a result of forceps use. They just talk about temporary marks and bruising which will disappear after a few days. Bollocks, sorry.

Particularly with elective sections, the head can still be high so forceps often required.

Jergens can you explain? I don't understand what you mean: Particularly with elective sections, the head can still be high so forceps often required.

Am writing this because I am contemplating a section in order to avoid forceps delivery...

DS2 was born using forceps (elective c-section because of placenta previa). Because the placenta was low he was pushed up near my ribs so had to be helped. He had bad facial bruising that last a week or two but luckily seems fine now.

NewNew, with many elective sections, the delivery is prior to 40 weeks so greater chance that head not far down in pelvis. Once the surgeon makes the incision on the uterus, they put their hand under the baby's head and get their assistant to apply pressure to the top of the uterus to try to push baby out. If the head is high, the applied pressure might not be enough to push baby out, so forceps can help here.

thanks for the explanation Jergens!

for the record: my DC2 was born by forceps assisted VBAC and had a vertical scratch down his face just across one eye. He is fine though.

My son was born earlier this year through ELCS. It was discovered during the op that he was completely wedged in to my lower uterus and there was no way he'd ever have come out vaginally. Ventouse was used to remove him within the section. He was a bit wonky-headed at first - although tbh not noticeable under the newborn hat.

I remember watching the whole thing in the reflection of the lights and wondering why the surgeons seemed to be wrestling so hard with my abdomen.

My midwife told me that it was the worst abdominal bruising (on me!) she'd seen in her 30 year career.

My husband has a scar on his eyebrow from forceps delivery 1944girl!

PS Wonky head may well have been because he was wedged in me rather than ventouse - I shall ask him.

Not defending incompetence here, don't get me wrong, but forceps have saved an awful lot of babies and mothers over the years. Inevitably, an unfortunate few will suffer complications, just like with any other treatment. Forceps are sometimes used to protect the baby's head when it is premature - not always for tugging on a stuck baby.

I think forceps are barbaric, I absolutely hate the thought of them more than anything else to do with childbirth. I'm due to have an elcs in 6 days and never thought that forceps could be used, I'm now thinking of stating that I don't want them used without my explicit consent. I read a story the other day about a baby that was killed by forceps and it made me feel sick to the stomach, this is the link:
www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1253013/Forceps-killed-baby-doctors-using-them.html

Omg I've just put 'baby killed by forceps' into google and the results literally took my breath away, it seems that there are many horror stories out there. I am definitely going to state no forceps!

They only use them if they can't get the baby out without them. It's not often they're used in a section. But if they need to use them then they need to use them. Once a woman has been cut open, uterus is open the clocks ticking. You can't fanny about, unable to get the baby out while the woman refuses to consent to the dr finishing the section.

dear weemouse1,
forceps are used doing caesarean sections occasionally, particularly if the baby is quite engaged.

a very small risk of the forceps is that if pressure is applied to the baby's head around cranial nerve 7 from th forceps, which is the facial nerve, it can cause a facial nerve palsy (bell's palsy). i'm not saying the foceps caused it, but forceps can cause them.

Emma - midwife

My sister had forceps used during a c-section. Baby's head was quite far down and stuck.

Thank you all for the responses. Think her face is resolving!

Interesting to come across this as I had an elcs on Wednesday and forceps were used to help my little girl out and like others I hadn't realised they were used in sections.

She had a very small blemish on her eye but that has now gone. I was told they had to use them as her head was fully engaged and too far down in my pelvis to get out by hand.

I was born using forceps during a caesarian. My mother always told me they were necessary due to the delay in the section that was needed to get my fathers consent to my mother having a sterilisation at the same time (he wasn't around at the birth - fathers tended not to be in those days) so I was too far down when dm was opened up. I've also been told forceps are the most likely cause of the unilateral deafness I have caused by nerve damage. I imagine that modern forceps would be better designed and less likely to cause serious injury though.

You can't realistically say "you can't use forceps on me" - when push comes to shove and they've tried getting your child out using their hands, what do you want them to do next? A hope and a prayer are unlikely to prove fruitful.

I will just be forever thankful (as 1944girl says) that I live in a day and an age where he was pulled out through my c-section with a ventous rather than pulled out vaginally with a ventouse/forceps - because christ knows how horrific the damage would've been.

This is one of those things that you need to weigh up the risks. Yes, babies can be injured but I would imagine far more are saved. When it comes down to it, you need to choose the method which provides the best result for your child. If they faff about trying to get a baby out who needs to be out now the risks of something far more severe than nerve damage are high.

My grandmother's middle child was a neonatal death caused, in her belief, by a botched forceps delivery at home.
I had a work colleague who died following a botched c-section.
I know many more people who were fine after both (although obviously forceps-at-home are not used now)

My dc was emcs with forceps. The forceps saved his life as his heart had stopped and they had to get him out quick. I'm have an extended scar and he had some bruising but it saved his life!