Devastating. Kleenex needed.

Ycu2013 · January 2014

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2533493/We-heard-pop-like-pottery-cracking-Parents-heartbroken-baby-girl-dies-skull-spine-broken-forceps-delivery.html

Chrisanna0508 · January 2014

OMG...that is terrible! I hope they at least take the doctors license because, if the facts are recorded correctly, he really placed them in danger. I can't even imagine what I would do if it was me.

Welshgirl12 · January 2014

That story is devastating.

finnybooboo · January 2014

Wow, so scary. This just hits home because I was in a similar situation where A was just too big for my body. Luckily my doc made the right decision and ordered the csection after 3 hrs of pushing wasn't working. After she was born and we found out how big she really was (10lbs 1oz) he said forcing a vag delivery could have been devastating for both of us. I can't even imagine how devastated and angry this family must be.

MtnChickaD · January 2014

Why did I read that??

( The pictures make it even worse, poor sweet baby.

tmccord21 · January 2014

Holy hell why did I read that

shellb1978 · January 2014

This was posted all over facebook, so sad. I'm glad the hospital I delivered at doesn't use forceps. I had to have a csection due to my water being broke for 24 hours, and DD not fitting in the birth canal.

acethebase · January 2014

I can't read shit like this anymore...... How heartbreaking!

jnsmith85 · January 2014

That's the exact reason I refused forceps and vacuum, I would do a csection over and over again to avoid them. Seen way too much shit in the nicu for me to ever be comfortable with it.

So devestating for those parents. I can't even imagine what they are going through

acethebase · January 2014

jnsmith85 said:
That's the exact reason I refused forceps and vacuum, I would do a csection over and over again to avoid them. Seen way too much shit in the nicu for me to ever be comfortable with it.

So devestating for those parents. I can't even imagine what they are going through

Are you serious? So this is common, WTF!

psychdoc12 · January 2014

Suddenly I feel perfectly at peace with my decision to have a C-section when my baby would not descend any farther and they were talking about vacuum-assisted delivery.

citygirl17 · January 2014

OMG NO. This is the most awful thing =(. My heart is breaking for this couple. My baby is named Olivia too and looks a lot like this baby - it's creepy =(. When I was pushing my OB saw some decelerations in her heart rate that she was very concerned about and started to talk to me about using forceps or vacuum to get her out quicker. Once I heard that I pushed her out in only 35-40 minutes and thankfully none of that intervention was necessary. Thankyouthankyouthankyou God we didn't have to resort to any of that.

CatieG · January 2014

This happened to my dad's older sister back in the late 30s. She is the reason I stipulated in my birth plan that I would not allow the use of forceps. Heartbreaking.

sooner1981 · January 2014

I still have a scar on my face from my forceps-assisted delivery 30 years ago!

That said, it is so tough to read these stories because of all the "woo" during pregnancy about how your body won't grow a baby that you can't birth vaginally and how small women can still birth big babies and that height has nothing to do with anything. We are told to side-eye like crazy hospitals with high c-section rates and to find doctors who are willing to move heaven and earth to do vaginal births.

Cases like this are why most reputable OBs recommend c-sections when babies are not descending. Why they may recommend c-sections when there is a small mama with a big baby.

They know that parents will never come back from the death or injury of a baby that could have been prevented by c-section. Yes, the overall c-section rate is too high. But stories like this remind us, horrifically, how the invention of the c-section was truly an amazing forward leap in maternity care.

Devastating!

jennlin · January 2014

@jnsmith85 this is common enough to need to avoid it?? My dd was vacuumed. I didn't know!!

sooner1981 · January 2014

Jennlin--my understanding is that, in the hands io a competent doctor, a vacuum can be a good tool to just get over the hump as far as getting the baby out vaginally without issues. But in the hands of a bad doctor, a vaccine or forceps can be misused--just like a bad doctor can totally F up a c-section or allow a mom to push when she is not fully dilated, causing a 4th degree tear, etc.

Amjoy25 · January 2014

Oh gosh. That's awful. They will own that hospital, and that doctor.

And I agree with @sooner1981...these tools can be effective when used correctly. The doctor attempted to vacuum Willa (the hospital has a one and done policy); he tried once, it didn't work. C-section happened. Also, about big babies. #donttellCV

babygiantquest · January 2014

missgpsu said:

I read this yesterday and it really hit home. I had to have forceps and the vacuum to get Bridget out because she was stuck in the birth canal. Mine was a little different because she was literally right there for over an hour so a c-section would have been even more dangerous because they would have to pull her up and could have ruptured my uterus. I am most definitely asking for a c-section though the next time so this never happens again. She ended up being stuck on the cord and that caused all kinds of issues. It made me less judgmental of people who plan their c-sections even when the doctor says they could do it vaginally. My doctor still says I could do it vaginally the next time, but I would never go through that horror and the chance of losing my LO ever again.

The bolded was our situation, too, plus he started to show signs of distress. There just wasn't time to prep for a c-section, even if it had been an option. Forceps are a good tool when used correctly; there's just a lot of opportunity for them to be used incorrectly. My OB is the best at forceps delivery in the area, and my son was still scarred and scabbed. We were even worried about nerve damage to his left arm for the first week or two. I know it's major abdominal surgery, and recovery's a bitch, but I'd honestly rather go c-section next time, myself.

ETA: I'm going to go cuddle my baby and cry now. Stupid article. Poor family.

huntjul · January 2014

Most docs reach for the vacuum not the forceps now because it's harder to injure baby. The vacuum has a safety built in. It will only apply a certain strength of suction, then it will pop off the baby's head if the force is too high to be safe. Most practitioners will attempt the vacuum three times, allow it to pop off three times, then call for the c-section knowing they tried. But you can't pull too hard with it or it simply pops off. So if it came to needing it, I wouldn't be against it for the sake of saving me from a c-section which also carries risks.

jnsmith85 · January 2014

It's NOT common!!! Sorry I should have worded better!!!

I ONLY see the bad. I only see the negatives, the babies that come to the NICU as a result of what can go wrong. And I have never seen something as severe as what happened to that poor baby. But I have seen enough for it to scare me away from wanting to use either device.

Sorry ladies, didn't mean to scare y'all!!!

Ycu2013 · January 2014

I feel so blessed to hold and love on my little men! I cried last night after reading this. I can't imagine life without them either.

cvjoyner · January 2014

I read this article yesterday and it just breaks my heart. My heart goes out to those parents.

Jalee85 · January 2014

I read this yesterday off of facebook. This is absolutely devastating for the poor parents. I had a vaccum baby and after seeing what it did to DDs head. I might ask for a c-section in a similar situation. I'm just glad it was something she could recover from.

Mom2Ary · January 2014

I literally went and held Ary after reading this. Those poor parents, I know the loss of a child is always unexpected but it's surely hard when it was the fault of a doctor your supposed to be able to trust. Wow!

Ycu2013 · January 2014

Jalee85 said:
I read this yesterday off of facebook. This is absolutely devastating for the poor parents. I had a vaccum baby and after seeing what it did to DDs head. I might ask for a c-section in a similar situation. I'm just glad it was something she could recover from.

OMG...your poor baby! So very glad that she's ok!!

Jalee85 · January 2014

Ycu2013 said:

Jalee85 said:
I read this yesterday off of facebook. This is absolutely devastating for the poor parents. I had a vaccum baby and after seeing what it did to DDs head. I might ask for a c-section in a similar situation. I'm just glad it was something she could recover from.

OMG...your poor baby! So very glad that she's ok!!

I cried when I saw her head. She actually slept on an incline with a pillow for the first 2 weeks. She was in enough pain they were giving her Tylenol.

Breastfeeding was impossible for the first week. You couldn't touch her head without causing her to scream. So I pumped the first week.

If I knew then what I know now; I think I would of asked for a csection. Luckily it was just a wound on her skin. No bleeding in the brain or skull fractures. She was completely healed by 3 weeks.

So this story really hit home with me. I kind of wished I didn't read it... That poor baby and the parents.

Roseallen112 · January 2014

Oh my god. I can't even begin to imagine what they are going through.

Foutzie44 · January 2014

I am so heartbroken for them.

Although we will never know everything that happened, add me to the list of happy to have c-section...and will 100% have another in any future pregnancies!

tashad18 · January 2014

I saw the headline and picture on my FB news feed, but I cannot bring myself to read the article. I cannot imagine what the parents are going through.

trackgirlparis · January 2014

I've seen this all over Facebook and read it yesterday, only to end up crying and holding DD like crazy afterwards.

This is exactly why I told DH and my mom that I wanted to have a c section if forceps and the vacuum were being considered as I didn't want those used.

So sorry for those parents though. Such a devastating situation.

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