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?

@CathyandHeathcliff I'm not disputing your decision but I'm two weeks after a c section and still in a lot of pain from my scar. I previously have had both ventouse and forceps deliveries and while those were traumatic experiences in the delivery room , (especially as i'd had no pain relief when they used forceps on me!!) , I was definitely more mobile and in less pain after them, than I am now! I'm not trying to change your mind, I'm just warning you that the c section sadly isn't the "easy way" some people make it out to be. You will need a lot of support at home afterwards and not driving for 6-8 weeks has gone from sounding ridiculous to me, to sounding very realistic :(

I really am just trying to say- I underestimated the c section experience. So long as you are prepared with your support, you'll be fine :) In my case my husband is itching to go back to work , which is v unhelpful!!

I was pulled down the bed with the foreceps, had to scramble back up. It was horrific and far more violent than I think should be happening in this day and age. I bet in 20 years time this will be one of the things considered unbelievable to happen and archaic.

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!

Don't forget to factor in the risks associated with caesarean section when you do your risk assessment.

@Donkdonkgoo my now 3 year old was delivered with very forceful forceps, me no pain relief, 10 doctors /midwives all rushed in the room as my sons heart rate was really dropping. My husband had to leave the room as he was going to faint as it all went so wrong, so quickly.
But the outcome was- my baby was fine.
I had to have reconstructive surgery 12 months afterwards.
But I know It had gone wrong too quickly to have a c section.

What puts it in perspective for me is that My friends son has v severe brain damage from a delay in being delivered when he was in distress. He will never speak, walk etc. They won £millions in negligence case against hospital but would of course swap it in a heartbeat to have the healthy child he could have been.

Im sorry what you went through but I consider myself so lucky to have a healthy child I am truly grateful to the doctors - although it was utterly barbaric at the time!

I'm 21 weeks with my second and already had a c section signed off for this one. No way am I going through that again. I ended up with birth injury and still am not healed fully (almost 3 years on) it is unlikely I ever will be. For me, the risks of a c section are more quantifiable and predictable.

@kitty1013 I know, I have definitely considered all the c section side effects and risk factors, but I still would rather have that than risk a possible forceps or instrumental delivery that would leave me completely traumatised. I refuse vagina examinations, so there’s absolutely no way I’d want forceps used on me in a million years, of course if the baby was in danger, I would have to give them consent...but I’m hopefully not going to get into that situation (unless he makes an early appearance) as I’m booked in for a c section, don’t yet have my date, but should do soon. It’ll be between 39 and 40 weeks. I’d much rather a planned c section than an emergency.
The use of forceps just looks barbaric and I don’t want it done to me, particularly without pain relief, which is surely horrendous!

A pp has said a c-section would take half an hour to arrange, I had an emergency c-section and was under a GA probably less than 5 minutes after the doctor pressed the emergency button, a nurse went and told my husband baby had been born and was well within en minutes of me going into the theatre.

It was very dramatic like an episode of ER there were so many staff around me I had a nurse doing a catheter and another person doing a canula and two putting a stocking on each leg, and they had ran with me in the hospital trolley down to the theatre.

I know I'm so fortunate to have had a hospital where this was available.

OP I feel awful for you, and any other women who experience assisted delivery's or any sort of birth trauma. I really do think though that as unpleasant as it may look and it will definitely feel the healthcare professionals( with the rare exception) know what they are doing and are acting in baby and Mothers best interest.

They use forceps in c sections too. Obviously you'd avoid vaginal trauma but an elective section isn't a way to avoid instruments used on the baby.

There is no doubt that assisted delivery can be traumatic for mum and baby ... but as Kitty said it's usually the lesser of two evils as it were....

Leaving a baby with low oxygen level can cause catastrophic brain damage in minutes. I wonder how many people criticising forceps or ventouse use here would be the ones prepared to make the decision as to how to get a baby out quick that's almost born but struggling. Remember that you might not be lucky enough to have the anaesthetist and obstetrican a few minutes away and in 5 minutes you might have a baby that's brain damaged !

Not only that you could then be sued if you delayed and be blamed for causing that brain damage...you don't think of that at the time but it's a fact that you could end up being crossexamined in court asking why you didn't perform a procedure that could have had that baby born in two minutes.

ALL childbirth options have their risks and thank goodness we have midwives and obstetricions to help us through the process as best they can. Not saying they are all perfect and saints but generally they make the best judgement calls they can.

I had a horrible aggressive rotational forceps delivery

Re a previous comment about time being precious.. I was taken down to theatre and prepped for a c-section with a team of people BEFORE they did the forceps attempt. The forceps could have failed which would have added time onto the delivery for the sake of avoiding a section.

I have on-going problems and issues from the delivery and feel really angry the decision was for me with absolutely none of my input. I didn’t know the risks to my body and my baby until afterwards. Of course a CS isn’t ideal but in a situation of rotational forceps vs an EMCS I think it’s a case of two different sets of risks against eachother and that maternal input and choice in the matter is extremely important.

Sadly most women, like myself, have no idea of the risks and go along with the ‘were just taking you down to theatre for forceps okay’

Forceps were used on my DS during my elective c section

In our antenatal classes we were warned how brutal forceps deliveries can be, the one foot on the bed is normal practice as far as I’ve been made aware. My son was delivered via forceps and we got off quite lightly.