Delivery\Painless Labor\Deception\Forceps\Newborn Cheek Injury

Epidural analgesia prolonged the labor, resulting in the use of forceps for assisted delivery. The forceps caused injury to the newborn's cheek.

First, the claim of prolonged second stage of labor was not accurate, because under epidural analgesia the standard limit for the second stage is three hours. Second, without epidural analgesia, the mother's labor would have progressed faster, greatly reducing the likelihood of forceps use and therefore significantly lowering the chance of the cheek injury. Third, it is a well-established obstetric principle that epidural analgesia can prolong labor. It disrupts the natural connection between mother and baby, creating a potentially risky situation. Obstetricians themselves usually choose not to have epidural analgesia when they or their partners give birth. Fourth, when the second stage reached two hours, the obstetrician suggested considering cesarean delivery. The mother declined, so the doctor proceeded with forceps assistance. Fifth, a second stage of two hours is not considered abnormal under epidural analgesia. The mother still had a good chance of achieving a spontaneous vaginal delivery at that point. Sixth, the forceps use record stated that the reason was prolonged second stage. This does not hold up, because the upper limit for the second stage with epidural analgesia is three hours, not two. Seventh, epidural analgesia objectively increases the probability of cesarean delivery. Compared with normal vaginal birth, cesarean sections substantially boost medical revenue.

Contacting this website early in pregnancy would have allowed better preparation for the various calculated decisions that can occur during labor. For example, when the doctor suggested cesarean delivery, one could have reminded them that it had not yet reached three hours. But the most important factor is refusing epidural analgesia for labor. This would have kept the labor shorter. Then everything would likely have gone smoothly.