Risks and hazards associated with forceps deliveries

When you visit a California hospital to give birth to a child, you probably have high hopes for a smooth delivery and a happy, healthy baby who will help complete your family. For some parents, however, the birthing process goes anything but smoothly, and in some situations, physicians have to rely on alternative birthing methods, such as forceps deliveries, to deliver your child. In some cases, forceps deliveries can lead to injuries and related issues for your or your baby, and some of them can prove quite serious. At Kampf, Schiavone & Associates, we have seen the sometimes-traumatic effects of forceps deliveries firsthand, and we have helped many families who experienced hardship due to such deliveries seek recourse.

According to the Mayo Clinic, your physician may decide to do a forceps delivery if you are having a particularly difficult labor. If you are, for example, pushing, but not seeing any progress, your doctor may recommend a forceps delivery, and he or she may do the same if you have certain health issues, or if your baby’s heartbeat indicates he or she may be in distress.

In a forceps delivery, your doctor will try to deliver your baby while you are pushing by clamping down on your baby’s head using forceps. While, in some cases, forceps deliveries go smoothly, in others, they cause harm to mother, baby or both. As a birthing mom, you run the risk of suffering injuries to your bladder or urethra when you undergo a forceps delivery. You may also experience uterine rupture, lower genital tract tears and weakening of the muscles supporting your pelvic region, among related risks.

Your baby, meanwhile, may suffer facial injuries during the birthing process, and he or she may, too, suffer external eye trauma, a skull fracture or bleeding in the skull, among other possible injuries. You can find more about medical malpractice by visiting our webpage.