Despite falling out of favor in recent years, forceps-assisted deliveries may actually be safer for newborns than C-sections and vacuums, according to a recent study.
C-sections are being performed in around one-third of all births, according to 2007 statistics. That is compared to 21 percent a decade before. Vacuums are being used far more frequently in difficult births as well.
The reason for the increase in the use of methods other than forceps in difficult births is not easy to determine, as statistics do not show that these other methods are safer, according to Dr. Erika F. Werner, at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Dr. Werner is the head of a study using data on more than 400,000 births to first-time moms. The study found that those delivered with forceps were 45 percent less likely to suffer a seizure than those born via vacuum pump or C-section.
Seizures at birth are often caused by oxygen deprivation to the brain. This kind of birth trauma can result in permanent damage.
According to Dr. Werner, delivery doctors can typically get to the baby faster with forceps than with the other methods, which may help explain the lessened seizure risk.
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