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Forceps Delivery Injuries
You may be entitled to compensation if you or a loved one suffered an injury due to the incorrect or inappropriate use of forceps or other obstetric instruments.
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Forceps Delivery Claims
Many women have uneventful pregnancies, which progress to uncomplicated labour and safe delivery of their child. However, sometimes, a woman’s labour is prolonged or fails to progress to delivery. Some women may experience contractions for several days without progress. Some circumstances require the obstetric team to terminate the labour and deliver the baby via a Caesarean section to avoid injury to both mother and child.
Sadly, there are times when the necessity of a Caesarean section is not recognised, and labour is allowed to continue. At some point during the labour, it becomes apparent that the baby’s head is failing to descend the birth canal as expected. The obstetric team might find themselves in a position where the baby must be expeditiously delivered to avoid compromise and injury, but a Caesarean section is no longer an option given the progress of the labour at that stage. Internal maneuvers or rotations of the baby in the birth canal are sometimes attempted to position the baby to facilitate descent down the birth canal and delivery. In addition to those maneuvers, instruments are utilised to facilitate the delivery of the baby’s head. Many women do not suffer injury due to forceps and many babies are successfully delivered with the aid of forceps.
There can be no dispute that an instrumental delivery is sometimes necessary and can save a baby’s life and prevent the baby’s compromise by avoiding delivery delays. However, forceps must be appropriately used and correctly applied to prevent injury to mother and child. Otherwise, women can sustain serious and possibly permanent birth canal and pelvic injuries, requiring long-term medical and surgical treatment. Such injuries could be life-changing for those women, and some women could lose a significant volume of blood, which could be life-threatening. Babies could also suffer serious injuries due to lacerations caused by forceps or other injuries caused by inappropriate forceps placement. Some babies may even sustain significant injuries due to excessive pressure and force in using forceps that could cause bleeding or injury to a baby’s skull.
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Forceps Delivery Injuries Frequently Asked Questions
Forceps delivery complications can cause birth injuries to mother and child. Since the forceps are clamped onto the newborn’s head, improper use can cause brain damage and other injuries with different levels of severity.
Forceps delivery complications put babies at an increased risk of:
- Bleeding in the skull
- Cerebral palsy
- Jaundice
- Seizures
- Skull fractures
- Small bumps or bruises on the baby’s head
- Small cuts or lacerations on the baby’s face
- Temporary facial muscle weakness (facial palsy)
Maternal birth injuries caused by complications from a forceps delivery are more common than injuries to the child.
A forceps delivery can cause mothers to suffer:
- Blood clots in legs or pelvis veins
- Injuries to the bladder
- Long-term or short-term fecal or urinary incontinence
- Pain in the tissue between the vagina and anus (perineum)
- Uterine rupture
- Vaginal or rectal tears
- Weakened pelvic muscles or ligaments resulting in dropped organs (pelvic organ prolapse)
If you or your child suffered an injury while giving birth and the injury has persisted and you suspect that the injury was avoidable, it is wise to seek legal advice from an experienced specialist birth injury solicitor. Your solicitor will investigate the level of care that was provided to you and your child during your pregnancy, labour and delivery, and will provide you with advice on the viability of your claim.
Your child may be entitled to compensation for injuries sustained as a result of inappropriate use, or incorrect application of, forceps or other instruments. You must contact an experienced forceps delivery injury solicitor to explore your options and your child’s entitlement to compensation.
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