FORCEPS - A little poll

[JacksFirstChristmasMama]

(This may have been done before, if so I apologize for not searching the archives first.)

I'm just wondering - is there anyone who had a reasonably positive experience with a forceps delivery?

I'm asking because I got into it with a consultant last week - I will be having a repair on my bits in Feb from DS's birth. It was pretty horrible, ended in a forceps delivery which caused a massive tear, hemorrhage etc... hence the necessity for a repair. We were discussing the upcoming surgery, and while I am of course looking forward to being (hopefully) pain-free in the future, I'm not too excited about having to have surgery. So I made a comment about the mismanagement of my labour (there really was complete fuckwittage by my midwife) and how several doctors after said that I ought to have had a section, and that I think forceps are barbaric. The consultant told me that there are many times when the use of forceps is appropriate and that they often (in fact he said in most cases) don't cause too much damage. He was being pretty snotty about it, actually, and the conversation ended up deteriorating to the point where I told him that he really wouldn't know, would he, seeing as he was a male and would never have a set of salad tongs shoved up his fanjo... anyway, he stuck to the point and said I should ask around, and that lots of women have "good" forceps deliveries. I find tha a bit hard to believe but am willing to be surprised.

So --- anyone? If you've had forceps, was it awful or a "good" experience? Have any/most of you had complications after or been ok?

Well natural tearing (so wich I'd had an episiotomy) with forceps for me, ending in infection, massive scarring, an hematoma. Subsequently cortisone injections and two perineal repair operations to get things right(ish). So no!

But then my friend was fine, she never complains of any residual soreness. IME and asking around though, she's quite lucky.
I was forceps and my mum didn't have any more...

I had a positive experience.

Had my delivery performed by a lovely senior consultant - by chance - and she did an excellent job. Episiotomy and then Height (sp?)-Ferguson forceps.

Not had any problems at all and that was over 5 years ago.

Later gave birth to DD2 with only a graze - didn't tear at all.

Just recently had a ventouse delivery, 2nd degree tear and stitches. Again, lovely consultant who stitched me well in the delivery suite.

ds 1 -ventouse episiotomy slight tear -9lb 1oz
ds 2 -forceps (baby stuck) no episiotomy 3rd degree tear 9lb 15 1/2 oz

dc 3 -I WANT A C-SECTION!

I'm a size 8 and weigh 8 1/2 stone and don't want forceps again.

My forceps baby was only 7lbs., 1oz.

BUT, my ventouse baby was 9lbs., 5oz.

God, having been reasonably forgiving of my forceps delivery I am now cacking myself. DD2 is due a week today and now I am wondering whether I might say I would prefer a c-section if instruments look necessary. I really value my pelvic floor...

My 8 lb 10 oz ds was delivered using forceps 16 years ago. It was fine.

GP told me that he had seen many first time forceps births artichokes, but only one second birth. Pre-stretched presumably!!!

Good luck!

I was also a forceps delivery and my mother never had another baby because of it.

I think a lot depends on the skill of the consultant - a couple of friends have had forceps deliveries and the only ones taht had a good experience were those who had head honcho consultant doing it AND stitching them back up.

Worst case was a friend who had a junior doctor unleashed on her with forceps, she ended up with a temporary collostomy bag aged 26. She successfully sued the hospital.

I agree that a lot depends on the skills of the consultant and also on how far the baby has descended. My first DS was lifted out by forceps and it was fine. No problems at all and episiotomy healed quickly.

But - DS was almost out anyway (don't think I needed the forceps but everyone was getting twitchy cos I'd been pushing for 2 hours) so there was none of the tugging, bruising etc that I have witnessed at other women's forceps births.

I wonder how old the people who have a really bad time with forceps are compared to those who are saying it was fine?
I've said this on other childbirth threads but I think age can be a factor for some people.

When discussing birth trauma in general with others here, it does seem that "older" mums as we're called like me (32 with my first and will be 35 when 2nd born) seem to suffer more. My mum was also 32 with me, and we had similar injuries and healing.
My sister had their first children at 20 and 21 respectively and have since had 3 vaginal births each without much tearing. Possibly becaue you are more elastic when you're younger.

So maybe you can apply that rules to forceps?

Or maybe I'm talking out of my ass?

Sisters plural.

I read this thread title as "FORCEPS - a little pull".

ANyway - I had forceps with dd. Episiotomy - no tearing. I did haemhorrage, nut it's never before occured to me it was because of the forceps.

forceps here too with DS1 - bad tear and PPH.

awful things think they should be banned, anyway ... second birth no forceps and only a graze so yes agree with the second birth theory.

BTW I was 25 when I had DS1 - is this considered young these days? If so then the more elasticy theory was not kind to me.

I had a "good" forceps experience with my 1st (from my point of view, not from my baby's point of view). In that I healed fairly immediately and there was no damage to me whatsoever.

However, my poor little DS, we're convinced his neck muscles were quite badly damaged by the experience.

The head control that most babies have when the are a few weeks old was achieved by my DS when he was almost 6 MONTHS old. His head control was atrocious, like a newborn up til then. (His walking etc was within the normal range - 14 months, so we think the head control was from the forceps). Additionally, a muscle lump develped on his neck a few days after he was born and the paed who saw that thought it was due to being pulled by the forceps. Anyway, he's 2.8 now and this is all behind us, quite honestly, I was just grateful he was alive because I was quite ill and my liver was not working and at risk of poisoning him. He was induced at 37+0 which is perhaps partly why I ended up with the forceps. His heartrate wasalso not great in labour and there were a lot of docs and paeds - I think they were desperate to get him out of me.

Don't knwo if anyone has mentioned, but there are different sizes of forceps. I know I just had the smallest one, but some are truly barbaric instruments.

I was 22 when i had DD, she now has a lovely scar at the top of her brow from the forceps. Aren't second babies usually bigger?

Since DS's birth I've done a couple of unofficial polls (not pulls, LOL) regarding experience with forceps, tearing etc, and also regarding age at birth.
So far I've found that the overwhelming majority of women feel literally violated by forceps births, and that age (in other words, tissue elasticity) makes very little difference.
You're all supporting what I've found by asking around. The reason I'm asking is because there is currently talk of starting a panel at our local teaching hospital that wants to investigate the number of supposedly "unneccessary" C-sections. I'd like to be part of such a panel to represent those of us for whom the pendulum has swung too far the opposite way - that is, those of us who had forceps deliveries and were left physically and emotionally traumatized in an effort to avoid an "unneccessary" C-section.

DS1 induced on Saturday night, tugged out Monday afternoon with forceps. I was all prepped for CS if forceps didn't work.
I really didn't want forceps (I was forceps baby and have 2 huge scars on my face, didn't want that for my LO), but I'm just glad he was got out safely.
DS2 born without any assistance in just 7 hours.
I was really nervous about having a second baby because of the intervention, but now I've had that 2nd one I'm looking forward to 3rd, 4th and 5th!

Jack - that is exactly why I want a c-section with my 3rd. Ds 2 was stuck at 10pm yet they carried on mamking me push until 1.30am when i SAID NO MORE!!!! The forceps were hideous as ds was stuck quite high resulting in a 3rd degree tear.

Violated is definately a word I'd use

was bad - botched episiotomy - however I personally would rather have that than the average caesarean

I had a forceps delivery with my DD who is now 7 months old. I would say it was a positive experience on the whole.

I had an episiotomy and they tried ventouse but didn't have the right size cup which caused some damage I think judging from the amount of rummaging taking place, plus it hurt and I was shouting at them to stop.

As I only had time for gas and air it was painful but DD was born safely - with slight marks on her face - and after seeing a cranial osteopath later hasn't seemed to have affected her adversely in that way.

I needed some stitching but I was told by more than one person that they made a very good job of it and have suffered no incontinence problems as a result.

On the whole good then.

i was 32 at my forceps delivery.

Dd1 has absolutely no scars. she had very little scarring even after the birth.

but, again, mine was performed by a very senior consultant.

DS had no real 'cone head' from ventouse. again, i got lucky and had senior consultant at the birth, who was only there at that time of the morning (4AM) because he'd been called in to perform two emergency csections that presented with complications.

Lotster I am 35 - hadn't read that far when I posted.

Perhaps what is more significant in my case is that I tend to look at things with a positive spin so my OK experience might be someone else's horrific experience...

Forceps and episiotomy here. No problems since, although rather like muppetgirl I would rather have had them 2 hrs earlier rather than keep pushing all that time while I waited for someone to decide whether dd was actually stuck or not
It's good to know you've had a good birth experience since, AdventCandleQueen, as really the only negative for me is that I worry how things will go with my next.

Depends which kind of forceps maybe - Kielland's forceps are used when baby is stuck high up (DS1 was OP and very very stuck and they used these) whereas ordinary forceps are used when baby's head is almost out.

I had a horrific labout with DS1 - monitored throughout, heart rate decelerating and an epidural that didn;t work properly and then a high forceps delivery, and I was convinced I would need an elective section for the next one. But DD and DS2 were both easy normal deliveries with gas and air!

I deal with medical negligence cases for a living - and the only thing I had on my birthplan was "NO FORCEPS". One too many meetings with Colorectal Surgeons put me off the whole idea.

Ventouse followed by forceps for dd1 (back to back position)delivered by butcher consultant who was absolutely horrible and made me feel like some sort of silly woman who was making a fuss. DD was yanked pulled out and I was left with third degree tears. SHe had a bit of a cone head from the ventouse for a few hours but actually no marks from the forceps.
Not a nice experience.
Luckily dd2 although back to back turned and was delivered without the need for medieval torture equipment!