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comment by insomniasexx
insomniasexx  ·  3172 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Most Common Childbirth Practice in U.S. Is Unnecessary & Dangerous

A girl I played sports with in high school had the tongs. She had a scar behind her ear where hair refused to grow that she was super self-conscious about. When I asked her how she got it and she explained, I was horrified (of course...she did use the words "like big tongs"). As someone who had worked a lot with kids at that point, I had always been taught that their head is like a fragile eggshell and if you touch it too hard it will shatter and the child will die. The fact that using measures like that is a thing was mind-boggling.

I realize now that my horror wasn't complete justified but it's still kind of insane.





kleinbl00  ·  3172 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Chamberlen forceps are often held out as the A#1 reason for patent law. The Chamberlens kept them secret for 150 years, which probably contributed to the deaths of something like 150,000 mothers and babies.

They were also public domain 50 years before the Declaration of Independence so it's not like OBs haven't gotten used to them. The girl you played sports with probably had a sportier birth than she knew. Getting scarred by forceps is pretty rare from my understanding.

arguewithatree  ·  3172 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I got vacuumed and also have a cutis aplasia congenita patch on the crown of my head (don't Google Image it, all the pictures are extra wound-y looking, mine is covered now) . Since it's rare, most of the nurses thought the two were related.

CraigEllsworth  ·  3172 days ago  ·  link  ·  

I believe Sylvester Stallone has his characteristic droopy face and mushy voice because of those things.

Yup.