The Truth about Vacuum Deliveries
Find Out about the Risks of Vacuum Extraction before You Give Birth
While vacuum extraction assisted births are common with some medical providers, they do carry risks primarily for the baby.
What do we know about the risks of vacuum extractors?
There is good evidence that around 5% of all births include the use of a vacuum extractor. While care providers often downplay the risks to the newborn and may even use expressions that vacuum assisted births are "helping the mother to give birth", there is a growing body from both medical literature and legal publications, that using a vacuum extractor during a vaginal birth or a cesarean is not a benign procedure.
One 2003 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that mothers had more complications as a result of both forceps and vacuum assisted births as compared to spontaneous vaginal births.
The concern over the safety of the vacuum extractor is so great that the FDA came out with a Public Health Advisory in 1998 regarding the potentially life-threatening complications associated with this type of obstetric procedure. Namely, there is a greater risk of subgaleal hematoma after using a vacuum extractor where the veins in the baby's skull are damaged. As the blood accumulates, it can turn into a life-threatening hemorrhage.
How can we reduce the incidence of vacuum extractors?
One large homebirth study from 2005 (with participants in both the US and in Canada) showed that of the mothers who planned a homebirth and were later transferred to the hospital, the rate of vacuum extraction was only .6% versus 5.5% in the planned hospital birth group. One of the possible reasons here is that most planned homebirths are accompanied by midwives who do not use vacuum extractors at all in their practices and are much more likely to encourage various positions and pushing techniques to help the mother give birth.
As with any medical procedure or test, it is required that the medical provider obtain consent before using a vacuum extractor during birth. Not to mention, tt is certainly within the patient's bill of rights to refuse this type of delivery even if the care provider suggests it.
Mothers have the distinct opportunity to carefully interview their providers early in pregnancy. If the right questions are asked, more expectant mothers will choose medical providers who are less likely to use interventions such as vacuum extraction without a medical reason.
Numerous studies have also demonstrated that the continuous support of a companion doula during labor lowers the rate of vacuum assisted births as well as other medical interventions such as pitocin and cesareans.
How can we reduce the risks associated with vacuum extraction deliveries?
A Nigerian study on birth injuries showed that all of the complications caused by vacuum extractors and forceps occurred when junior residents attended the birth. It appears that the skill level of the practioner does play a role in the safety of the procedure.
It is crucial that expectant parents read the research available, ask questions of their care providers early in pregnancy and be informed of their rights to refuse any medical intervention before, during and after giving birth.
Do you have any concerns about vacuum extraction assisted births? Please share them with us on our discussion forum.
