About 1 in 8 pregnant women have an assisted delivery. This could be for a number of reasons:
- The baby may be in distress and needs to be delivered quickly
- The baby may be in an awkward position and needs a little extra help
- Depending on how long “mum” has been in labour it may be that she is exhausted and needs a little extra help.
There are 2 methods of assisted delivery used in hospitals in England. These are forceps and the Ventouse, which is a suction cup.
Problems can occur with an assisted delivery and mother, or baby, or both can be injured. The types of injury that we tend to be contacted about are:
- Shoulder injuries in the baby – baby’s shoulders get stuck which results in the muscles tearing and baby can be left with the use of just one good arm
- Head and facial injuries in the baby
- Tearing injuries to the mother
