Aggressive Forceps delivery, was this normal?

[Donkdonkgoo]

I gave birth to my son back in 2003 and I'm blessed as he is healthy and thriving, but something has always puzzled me about his birth....

I was 38 week with pre eclampsia, so after 7 days monitoring in hospital I was induced, eventually my labour started, things happened quite quickly and epidural was given early on (thank goodness), I was only 8cm dilated and had the urge to push but my sons heart rate started to drop, the midwife was in two minds about sending me for a cesarean but my contractions were quite frequent and I really wanted to push so she said ok we will give it a go....the midwife tried the plunger thingy which was very painful for me so she switched to the forceps, my son was born after only about 4 hours (first child) with the help of forceps but the midwife had her foot on the bed pulling with the forceps REALLY hard so much so that my husband backed up to a walk and said "oh my god" as it seemed really violent and forceful. I often think back and think it unbelievable a 5lb 4oz baby could survive such rough treatment.
Does anyone have any knowledge of this procedure and if foot on a bed is the norm?

I wasn’t looking with mine, but they grabbed DD so hard she has permanent dents in her jawbones from the forceps.

I was only told afterwards about the risks of damage to babies through use of forceps.

My son had a facial palsy so looked like Elvis for a few days but luckily it went away. I've just read about how children that had traumatic births can carry emotional issues through childhood and into adulthood, it was an interesting read and described my sons personality down to a T.

iahip.org/inside-out/issue-33-summer-1998/birth-trauma-in-infants-and-chidren%E2%80%A8

I too had a forceps delivery. It was horrific. Both my dh and dm were shocked at how aggressive it was. It's no wonder babies are injured

I’ve witnessed many forceps and vacuum deliveries and I’ve noticed that position with a foot up on the bed fairly often. I assumed it had to do with careful control of the maneuver.

I am sorry that you have been through a very stressful birthing experience, Midwives and obsetericisns honestly prefer not to use forceps or any kind of assisted delivery. If your baby needed to come out quickly then the medical team will make that happen as quickly and as safely as possible. Forceps are nobody’s ideal birth but if used in the correct situation then they can be life-saving for both mother and baby.

My dd is 9 now and she has a half moon shaped scar on her cheek from the forceps. They are a very violent, forceful way to be born.

.... you can use words like violent and foreceful, and they may be true... but surely better than “midwife/doctor knew something was wrong but didn’t act so baby died” the only times I have seen. Healthcare professional deliver a baby with any force (and I have seen quite a lot!) is because that healthcare professional - with many years of training - was worried that something was really wrong and so delivered baby ASAP to try to prevent any tragedies. It’s not perfect, but they’re really doing everything they can

For this reason I don't want forceps or ventous delivery, I would rather have a c-section before it got to the stage of needing these instruments!

That is a common preference that doctors and midwives all honour when they can, however if the baby is far enough down in the pelvis then it can be very tricky to deliver by c-section, so assisted vagibal delivery may be the safest option in some cases

in my many decades of working in the field the reality is it can take (and did in the small center where i worked for over 30 years) over 30 minutes to organize a c/s. call the anesthetist on call from home, call in the OR staff, do the patient check list (consent, group and crossmatch performed and available, catheterization ...it was a fairly long list and NO exceptions were made) primary nurse change into OR scrubs....then everyone shows up, your wheeled into the OR suite, people count supplies, people position you....it goes on and on and the clock ticks away.
it takes 3 minutes for brain damage from lack of oxygen. an experienced dr. who knows and has experience of using forcepts can have that baby out in two minutes.
i've seen some amazing forcept deliveries over the years.

Other countries like the USA are able to avoid aggressive forceps in Labour it’s a shame the UK can’t manage this as it can leave women with terrible birth injuries. Sometimes an assisted birth can be a simple lift out procedure in that case it can be fairly gentle.
I’ve had one assisted birth and I’m choosing an elective section this time.

Isn’t Other countries like the USA are able to avoid aggressive forceps in Labour it’s a shame the UK can’t manage this
because they go straight to CS at any hint of trouble, which do have their own issues.

This is one of the reasons I’ve requested an elective c section.

The idea of forceps is horrendous to me. I’m sure they have their place, but I hear of so many births having them included now, it scares me to death. I knew there was no way I could absolutely guarantee forceps wouldn’t be used, so the c section seemed the most appropriate choice. This is alongside other reasons too. I’ve been fully supported in my decision too.
I’ve read and heard awful things about forceps deliveries and I just don’t want to take that risk.

Also to me they look like some sort of medieval torture device!

@BiscuitDrama first sign of trouble and I will be following the US's lead and demanding a c section before it gets too late.
I don't want risk of damage to the baby's head/neck/face/shoulders, risking 3rd/4th degree tears and vaginal/anal incontinence as a result of the instruments!

Well just remember 3 minutes till brain damage, so ask for your section early and your epidural earlier.

I was induced as I was 13 days overdue and my waters had been broken for 24 hours with no signs of contractions. Once I was in the delivery suite things progressed quickly and I ended up having a spinal tap and forceps delivery.

None of that was what I had hoped for. In an ideal world I would have had a water birth with only gas and air. But things happen.

I had an episiotomy, I felt uncomfortable for a couple of weeks. I was worried I would never have full control over my bladder. But everything healed fine.

Whilst I had preferences for how my labour would go, I also realised that I didn't have that much control over it. I really did not want a csection, or an assisted delivery because I hadn't heard anything good about them. But the baby has to come out one way or another.

I realise that my forceps delivery went smoothly with no problems and that is not necessarily the norm. I think my feelings about labour would be the same the second time around. The idea of a csection still terrifies me. Not helped by the detailed description of what they do given to me by friends!

Thanks for all your comments, I'm obviously grateful that the midwife assisted to get my son out out quickly I just wasn't sure how rough it would be, I entered into the maternity ward quite nieve 😊.

I had PTSD after my forceps delivery. It took months of therapy for me and the therapist to reach the point I was able to verbalise that is found the delivery similar sensation but much more emotionally traumatic than when I was raped.

Overagain I'm really sorry to hear about your traumatic experience and the rape, I hope you have a lot of support to help you through such a difficult time.
Looking back I'm pretty sure I had PTSD but I thought that came about due to discovering my husband of 18 years was having an affair when my son was 6 months old. The birth is such a blur in my memory to be honest x

I was a big baby and a traumatic forceps birth many years ago. If you look closely my jawline is asymmetrical, one side feels far more prominent than the other and my collarbone is definitely askew and my shoulders uneven. I've often felt my whole life my skeleton isn't aligned properly. Probably nothing to do with my birth but it makes you wonder!

I was a forceps delivery and was born with a fracture collarbone as they had to break it to get me out. However my mother was also the first woman in 3 generations of her family not to have a stillborn first child. Forceps deliveries can be horrible, but save lives. I've had no further complications and fortunately had an uneventful natural first birth myself (though did have a c section with my large and stuck second baby, mums story had put.me right off pushing for too long!). My mum went on to have 3 more babies naturally and healthily and didn't have ongoing issues, not least because she's a lot more diligent about pelvic floor exercises than I am

So sorry to hear about your bad experience- I hope you get the emotional and physical support you need to recover, and that your baby stays healthy and well.

My firstborn was a ventouse delivery, his dad told me afterwards how shocked he was at the force used and that the doctor delivering him had her foot up on the bed. My baby's scalp was very bruised and I also had massive bruising myself and couldn't sit properly for several months (as well as a tear.)
I think they are only allowed 2-3 pulls with ventouse/forceps so I guess they have to use some force to make it count in an emergency situation.