Image via ABC. PM BY EMILY BOURKE.
There is renewed concern about the scale of injuries to women caused by forceps delivery in Australian hospitals.
One leading expert on maternal injuries said a crisis in maternity wards was a direct result of efforts to bring down the rate of caesarean sections.
Peter Dietz, one of Australia’s leading experts on gynaecological injuries, is also warning of a potential flood of medical legal cases.
He said the crisis in Australia’s maternity wards was a result of the shift away from caesarean sections at a time when more and more pregnancies were regarded as high risk.
“So women are … older and older at the time when they have their first baby and we all know there’s an obesity epidemic out there, so it’s the perfect storm,” he said.
“It’s not surprising at all that C-section rates have been going up everywhere.”
Professor Dietz said until recently, obstetricians were unaware of the extent of pelvic floor damage caused by forceps.
“That [kind of injury] happens in about 10 per cent of women having their babies normally, it happens maybe 11 per cent after a vacuum or with a vacuum, and it happens here in Sydney in 44 per cent of all forceps.
“That’s a huge difference and that difference doesn’t just happen in Sydney.