anyone had 2 forcept deliveries??

[griffintribe]

With my dd i had a VERY bad forcept deivery which resulted in my now 2.4yr old having a scarred right cheek.

I am considering having a section with this pregnancy because i am scared to death of having forcepts again and refuse to give consent for them to be used.

The midwife keeps telling me that because its my 2nd baby that all my pelvic area is loser and that forcepts are hardly ever needed for the second birth.

I have quite large babies.

Has anyone had to have 2 forcept deliveries

hi griffintribe

Do you know why you had forceps, and why it was such a bad delivery? was baby in a really bad position ?

often first births do need a bit of assistance , forceps or ventouse. But sometimes that is to do with the position you are in or if you have an epidural , for example.

you can go for a VB, and if there is any question of baby not coming down you can refuse instrumental delivery and have a c.s instead. or of course, elect for c.s now.

second births are often a lot more straightforward than first ones..

have you been through the notes from your first birth with anyone to find out what happened?

hi griffintribe

I (sort of) share your fears. Ds1 was forceps cause he was OP and have just been told that ds2 (due in 2 weeks) is also OP and quite big. So I am kind of resigning myself to a re-run

Unlike you, my experience of forceps was not so bad and ds1 escaped with a couple of small bruises. Although I needed an episiotomy and tore, I healed really fast. So I would rather have forceps again than a c-section.

BUT, having said this to my midwife she was quick to reassure me that even with a another largish OP baby it would be very unlikely that this would be necessary. So, depending on your circumstances, I guess that's likely to be true for you.

I also know of several people who had forceps the first time and none needed them the second, even though they mostly had bigger babies.

However, if you really would refuse forceps under any circumstances then I think lulumama's advice is good - find out what happened last time and talk to your midwife about at what point during labour you would need to opt for a c-section, if it happened again. Even though it probably won't.

My dd didn't hit the birth canal straight and thats why i needed forcepts.

The doctor struggled to get her out even with the forcepts and left my dd with a friction burn over half of her right cheek that is still scared today.

The hospital investigated the birth and admitted fault.

I was in pain for quite a while after the birth and it took nealy 3 months before i fully recovered (ignoring the bladder infections that lasted a year).

I have heard that it is quicker to recover from c-section if it is planned rather than going through hours of labour and then having an emergency one.

Looking back at the birth of my dd i am just SO GRATEFUL that they didn't kill her, the way they were wrongly twisting her head could easily have broken her neck (as agreed by the investigation)but i will never give consent for forcepts again and think if i try natural labour i will worry all the time in case this baby needs assistance in coming out.

Its so hard knowing what to do for the best because no one can tell you in advance (obviously) how your labour will be

if your baby's head was sideways or sort of tilted, ( asynclitic, i think might be the proper word!! ) then that can make vaginal birth difficult if not impossible, it sounds as though a c.s might have been better for both of you under the circumstances. one small comfort is the hospital invesitgaing and admitting fault

going for a vaginal birth in these circumstances can be a difficult choice to make, a gut feeling about it can be useful. and whether you think you would spend time wondering 'if only i'd tried for a vb' if you elect for c.s....

ultimately, it is highly unlikely that such a thing will happen again.

but if you are going to spend your entire pregnancy and labour worried about it, is it worth it?

if you had to have the baby now, what do you think you would go for?

Thanks lulumama. If i had to pick my gut is telling me to go with an elected c-section, my dh is pushing me towards that option as well.

Think it says a lot that i would sooner go through major surgery, with lots of pain afterwards, not being able to drive and the nightmare of having to cope with a new baby and a 2.7yr old than do it naturally again.

Had forceps first time around but not second time. Second time easier in every way imaginable.

GT - had forceps for DD1, then a WONDERFUL easy birth for DD2. And then a c-section for DD3, which went very smoothly (she was undiagnosed footling breech!) I recovered very well, and as I posted on another thread, felt ready to drive after 2-3 weeks(check with your individual insurance co.)
In your position I would be very tempted to decide upon a planned section, letting me then relax and enjoy pregnancy. Whilst a VB is extrememly unlikely to be as traumatic as your first, it would be so hard not to worry.
All the best to you xx

do what you feel is best for you, you had a very harrowing first birth, and if your gut feeling is to go for c.s, then do so. what you might want to do, if you are not 100 % sure is see if you can book your c.s for 41 weeks, and give yourself more of a chance to go into labour and see what happens

Did you have an epidural first time around?

Posterior babies are less likely with second births, and forceps MUCH less likely, particularly if you don't have an epidural.

I had forceps with my first - large baby (9lbs 6oz), posterior position.

Second time around I had a 10lbs 12oz baby and didn't need an assisted birth.

If you have an active birth this time around with a good midwife, the overwhelming likelyhood is that you WON'T need forceps.

It is also the case that you can expressly refuse permission for forceps to be used - I have known someone who did this, who opted for a section after experiencing difficulties in second stage.

GT - your thread has just made me go OMG.
dd 3 was born after a v traumatic forceps delivery - and was left with a large scar ( again half the surface area) of her right cheek. I also pusued the matter and the hospital admitted liablity

When I fell pg with ds I was given no real option apart from elective CS( think the hospital were terrified of repeat, as was I)

Elective was ok but still feel I have been robbed of a natural birth experience. My Cs was also carried out as I had further complications after delivery.

If I had not been so sick 1st time around, I think I would have gone for a natural delivery with my 2nd pregnancy but elected for a CS if assisted delivery was required.

Sorry for such a long post, can not believe someone with such a similar experience - where abouts do you live!!!

DD age 3

Hi Dosydot, cant believe the same thing happened to you. How bad is your daughters scar?

We live in Nottingham and had the baby at the Queens medical centre.

The staff were wonderful afterwards and as stupid as it now sounds we didn't think anything was unusual about her having a mark.

About 24 hours after her birth i began to feel that something was wrong with the reactions of all the nursing staff that were seeing the baby.

Then about 36 hours after birth we had a consultant and medical investigater in the room with us explaining that one of the midwives had made a complaint about the state our dd was in.

So we didn't actually complain, midwife did it for us which i thought was brillant.

It was all investigated and we had several meetings and then an apology.

But it was a very upsetting and traumatic time and it makes me sad to look back at the baby photos but i am just so glad that she is here with us now and very happy and healthy.

I am in Southend, Essex

I was a member of staff at the time so knew it wasn't right but like you said just grateful she was here and safe.

Drs were also very concerned she was on antibiotics and painkillers 1 hour after delivery and had a brain scan 24hrs later to look for damage!!

It has all healed remarkably well and now is more textural if you know what I mean - no redness just a bit uneven on the skin. I have a letter from the hospital ensuring onward referral if she requires either scar treatment or counselling support, in the future

Baby photos upset me too, when DD looks at them she asks me why she has chocolate on her cheek!

Hope your second delivery is a more pleasent experience. CS definately takes away that worry.

The scar sounds just likes ours.

Luckily other people dont even notice it but to me you can still see the whole outline of it.

Sometimes the scar looks worse than others but at its very worst she just looks like she has a rosy cheek.

She is still very beautiful and it could have benn a lot worse.

DD was also on painkillers and anti biotics and we had to stay in for 6 days

I also see it but feel that is how I know she is our special precious little girl.

Only time strangers notice it is when she is ill, its like a pre warning beacon for a temp.Goes red and raises slightly.

Are you have a surprise this time or do you know the gender?

I completely understand your feelings Griffintribe. I had a traumatic forceps delivery. DS1 was OP and after 4 hours of pushing, the ventouse failed and forceps got him out. Me and him were in a bad state and he ended up in an incubator. I was advised to have a elective c-section if I had another baby and I was completely set on this at that time.

However, when I got pregnant with DS2 I completely changed my mind. The royal college of obstetrics and gynaecologists website had guidelines for operative vaginal deliveries (ie ventouse and forceps) and stated that only 20% of second deliveries (where the 1st one was operative) end up operative, even when the 1st delivery was traumatic. I went with my gut feeling and decided that I wanted to try for a natural delivery. I really had to fight with HCPs to try for one, and refused to be bullied into a c-section. I had a hard pushing stage (but only about an hour) - DS2 was OP as well and I did manage a natural delivery. Although my birth was traumatic for a completely different reason so it wasn't plain sailing at all. It was worth the risk for me and it was a much better and easier birth overall. I was adamant I would not consent to ventouse or forceps and DH was under instructions not to allow them under any circumstances.

It's not an easy decision for you at all, but good luck with what ever you choose.

Dosydot, we are having another little girl which we are very happy about.

My dh is worried that our dd scar will show up worse when she gets a sun tan. Does your dd change in summer time?

We tend to use total block on her face as advised by HCP- scars don't apparantly tan and just burn.

Saying that I didn't always remember. but never noticed too much change in it.

Congrats on having another girl, I grew up with sisters and loved it.

Griffintribe, I had forceps with DD and it was horrendous - I was in agony for weeks, though no one took me seriously, and I had to have reconstructive surgery 6 months later. (Luckily DD's injuries were pretty minor and healed ok.) I started this pregnancy thinking I wanted to try for a homebirth but as the weeks have gone on I'm so, so scared of a repeat of last time I've decided to have a planned cs. I didn't think I'd ever consider it, but I feel like a huge worry has been lifted from me and I can enjoy my pregnancy.
Good luck with whatever you decide.

my first was forceps delivery. she was face up (OP)and had her hand up by her head.

luckily i had a brill consultant and both of us came out okay.

but with my second the labour was much faster and despite my fears that i'd tear along the scar, she was delivered just fine and i only suffered a graze.