Babies cut during c-sections?

Specialties Ob/Gyn

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I'd really love to go into L&D nursing. I have a friend who is a NICU nurse but floats to L&D when needed. She was telling me that she was a c-section the other day where the baby's head was cut (not serious but still a cut). She felt so bad because the baby was screaming. No one told the parents who were looking so dazed at their screaming baby after all the commotion of getting sent in for a c-section. She told me it's not that uncommon. I was wondering what everyone's else's experiences were. Maybe I'd be better off thinking about the post partum units.... for some reason, the thought of that really bothers me. Should she have been the one to tell the parents?

Specializes in MedSurg-1yr, MotherBaby-6yrs NICU 4/07.

I have seen several lacs from C/S, most by the same doc. The others were stats. None major enough to stitch. A few had to be steristripped and the others just use Bacitracin. I have also seen several abrasions and lacs from lady partsl births because mom's pelvis was just about too narrow to deliver and baby's head scraped the pelvic bones on the way out. Nothing requiring stitches there either. The freakiest thing I ever saw was a breech baby who had a perineal tear. Bless her heart, she had partially descended into the birth canal and split her girlie parts, but not bad enough to repair. Forceps are good and bad. Depends on the situation. Tired mom, good doc, they often prevent sections. Baby not descending well, ok to bad doc, bad outcome. We have one doc who will forceps huge babies, he only sections breeches. I have seen horrible perineums on mom and butchered heads on babies. He delivered 2 babies in one week that required stitches to the face, one has permanent nerve damage and is partially blind. The forcep was on her eye and cut from her brow,across the eyelid, and down to the cheek. The pressure of the forcep blade on her eye permanently damaged it. Other docs are so good, there are no marks at all. You just never know. -

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It was me who said they are barbaric and I stand firm on that and nobody can persuade me otherwise. The damage to woman is horrendous. If you need to go to forceps then do a section, I am sure it is not pointed out to woman the damage that is caused to their lady parts and perinium. They do forceps by epidural so why not just do a section.

I wasn't even THAT lucky, my epidural had ran out several hours before delivery and they wouldn't give me any more because "you will have to stay in recovery too long" and wouldn't give me lidocaine for the repair because " you aren't feeling pain it is just pressure, you had an epidural after all" hmmm ya, NO I felt every single needle stick thank you, and of course was too young and stupid to really stick up for myself, I was crying the nurse was crying it was really bad, the whole reason I did OB nursing, you can bet that I NEVER allowed that to happen to any of my pts., and I have seen forceps with good results and even small epis. but would still rather just have the c/s, I know it is major surgery but forceps are just so dangerous.

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As others have said, Vacuum extractions are often pretty brutal. I've seen MASSIVE hematomas! One babe was transferred to us after complications from VE attempt x 8!!! He had a huge hematoma that calicfied (he was in multi system organ failure for a while due to hypovolemic shock so really the least of his problems) but it will take plastic surgery to correct. I believe he was neurologically intact but x8???? I'm not an L&D nurse but aren't they only allowed 3 attempts before c/s is called?

Our policy is 3 attempts (pulls). BTW, I am horrified to hear about docs putting their foot on bed to tow back and drag a kid out. If used properly and appropriately forceps should simply give mom a little oomph with pushing and ease the baby out. Of course, we know that isn't always the case in the real world. I happen to work at a facility that has a "high-ish" C-section rate due to the preference of pts & docs starting to tend towards section rather than risk injury during an assisted vag. delivery. SG

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I've seen it twice. Unfortunaltly one was a a stat c/s and some how the babies temporal artery was cut. That was a bad scene with a bad outcome.

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I always liken forcepts to a shoe horn. :lol2: It is not ment to "pull" out the baby, but guide the head.

I was a bad forcepts delivery.Bad bruising on both sides of my face and then discovered years later that my back lower molars were damaged and would not grow in. I needed to wear a space maintainer for two years.

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I've seen it twice. Unfortunaltly one was a a stat c/s and some how the babies temporal artery was cut. That was a bad scene with a bad outcome.

OMG Dawngloves, that is horrible, I cannot imagine how bad that must have been for all involved.

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The NM said it was the worst thing she'd ever seen. :o

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Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.
I wasn't even THAT lucky, my epidural had ran out several hours before delivery and they wouldn't give me any more because "you will have to stay in recovery too long" and wouldn't give me lidocaine for the repair because " you aren't feeling pain it is just pressure, you had an epidural after all" hmmm ya, NO I felt every single needle stick thank you, and of course was too young and stupid to really stick up for myself, I was crying the nurse was crying it was really bad, the whole reason I did OB nursing, you can bet that I NEVER allowed that to happen to any of my pts., and I have seen forceps with good results and even small epis. but would still rather just have the c/s, I know it is major surgery but forceps are just so dangerous.

I am so sorry, that was a horrible experience for you. My friend suffered a similar experience 25 yrs ago and says she still feels achy sometimes in her perinium. Imagine that:idea:

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i sincerely think the md's didn't mean to do it.

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I worked as an L&D RN for 20 yrs. in a level 3 center that did up to 500 deliveries /month. Cuts happened they were always minor.Only once a cut that was on an infants cheek(face) needed more then steri strips. The doctors were always honest with the parents and told them right away.

I think you need to be aware tough that L&D is not always a happy place to work. In my 20 yrs I had 2 patients that died and I took care of many babies that were stillborn or died during delivery. On the other hand I know I was instrumental in saving a lot of infants and some mothers/

I am not trying to discourage you because I certainly don't regret working in OB on the contrary they were the best yrs of my carreer so far just beware that it's not always a place of happy outcomes.

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Specializes in RN, BSN, CHDN.
I worked as an L&D RN for 20 yrs. in a level 3 center that did up to 500 deliveries /month. Cuts happened they were always minor.Only once a cut that was on an infants cheek(face) needed more then steri strips. The doctors were always honest with the parents and told them right away.

I think you need to be aware tough that L&D is not always a happy place to work. In my 20 yrs I had 2 patients that died and I took care of many babies that were stillborn or died during delivery. On the other hand I know I was instrumental in saving a lot of infants and some mothers/

I am not trying to discourage you because I certainly don't regret working in OB on the contrary they were the best yrs of my carreer so far just beware that it's not always a place of happy outcomes.

I agree I have seen and witnessed some horrible events as a midwife and no matter how often you see these things it is always awful. I looked after a few Soldiers and soldiers wives in the UK, and the terrible things that were hapenening to these babies was too many to say it was just chance. The UK government said there was no such thing as Gulf War Syndrome-try telling that to the military personnel who were or had been on active duty, and were all experiencing stillbirths and deformaties.

Sorry off topic

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They used the vacumn on my grandson at a military hospital 6 years ago & the brusing was so severe! I never heard of such a thing! lol

Sher

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