This should never happen :(

[twinkles**stars]

Yes there are always risks but this should never have happened. So very sad 😞

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2533493/We-heard-pop-like-pottery-cracking-Parents-heartbrok...

The parents of a baby girl who died after her skull was crushed during a forceps delivery are suing the Texas hospital where she was born.

Rachel Melancon had experienced a healthy pregnancy, but when a doctor at the Medical Center of Southeast Texas used forceps during the birth on December 28 it had devastating consequences.

As the medical device was clamped around her baby's head, the 24-year-old and her fiance Allen Coats claim they heard a popping sound as their daughter's skull was crushed.

Heartbroken: Allen Coats and Rachel Melancon with baby Olivia whose skull was crushed during an attempted forceps delivery

Damage: Baby Olivia was born with a fractured skull and broken spinal cord, which left her brain damaged

The baby girl, named Olivia Marie, survived for five more days after being left brain damaged and with a fractured skull and severed spinal cord.

Her parents plan to sue their obstetrician, Dr George T Backardjiev, and the Medical Center of Southeast Texas.

The couple have also started a Facebook campaign page to petition against the use of forceps in all births.

Ms Melancon, at 4ft 11in and weighing 95lb before she became pregnant, had asked for a cesarean section when her baby was overdue and large, considering her mother's petite frame.

The link gives the full story.........

[purplecarrot-top]

That is so very sad. Can not even imagine how the parents must feel. Plus I think the doctor must be feeling terrible as well. Sad all round.

[***super_nova***]

How devastating, but the baby looks huge; the mother should have definitely had a C-section.  But there may have been valid reason why that did not happen.  Doctors do not make wrong decision deliberately; most do not like to provide the opportunity to be sued.  There is another side to the story

[twinkles**stars]

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@***super_nova*** wrote:

How devastating, but the baby looks huge; the mother should have definitely had a C-section.  But there may have been valid reason why that did not happen.  Doctors do not make wrong decision deliberately; most do not like to provide the opportunity to be sued.  There is another side to the story

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Maybe not deliberately but some have a 'I know best' attitude 😞 I know from personal experience where a specialist was so wrong he caused the death of a young friend. Even when questioned he kept saying he was the expert!

In this case the doctor was using so much force he had his foot against the delivery table.....a sure sign that something was seriously wrong.

[i-once-was-bump]

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@twinkles**stars wrote:

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@***super_nova*** wrote:

How devastating, but the baby looks huge; the mother should have definitely had a C-section.  But there may have been valid reason why that did not happen.  Doctors do not make wrong decision deliberately; most do not like to provide the opportunity to be sued.  There is another side to the story

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Maybe not deliberately but some have a 'I know best' attitude 😞 I know from personal experience where a specialist was so wrong he caused the death of a young friend. Even when questioned he kept saying he was the expert!

In this case the doctor was using so much force he had his foot against the delivery table.....a sure sign that something was seriously wrong.

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Using leverage is not unusual in forceps deliveries. It is grotesque but needed as sometimes the baby stops at a point in the birth canal where they cannot do an emergency ceaserean.

A total ban on forceps could see a much higher rate of unnecessary operations or more still births.

Some births don't go to plan but how anyone could crush a baby's head is beyond my imagination.

Usually a person of her height would be booked in for a routine ceasarean unless the baby's father was a very small build.

[crystal**flake]

Sadly these things happen 😞

[nevynreally]

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@i-once-was-bump wrote:

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Using leverage is not unusual in forceps deliveries. It is grotesque but needed as sometimes the baby stops at a point in the birth canal where they cannot do an emergency ceaserean.

A total ban on forceps could see a much higher rate of unnecessary operations or more still births.

Some births don't go to plan but how anyone could crush a baby's head is beyond my imagination.

Usually a person of her height would be booked in for a routine ceasarean unless the baby's father was a very small build.

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He doesn't look like he's a small build. Just average. While I agree forceps shouldn't be banned, I think this doctor was totally wrong.

[azureline**]

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@crystal**flake wrote:

Sadly these things happen 😞

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yes, but it shouldn't.

[crystal**flake]

No one is perfect in any profession, of course we all expect our doctors to be gods but they're not.

i'm sure so many sad things happen everyday that we dont hear about.

[azureline**]

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@crystal**flake wrote:

No one is perfect in any profession, of course we all expect our doctors to be gods but they're not.

i'm sure so many sad things happen everyday that we dont hear about.

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I don't think we expect perfection.......mistakes can be made, accidents happen and sometimes grief makes people sue etc..............but if the doctor did nothing wrong, he will be exonerated. It doesn't mean we shouldn't expect that in 2013, a baby can't be born healthy, without perfection.