The Effects of Forceps on Temporal Lobes

Brain trauma, including forceps delivery, can disrupt any brain function. Brain trauma can cause excessive sleepiness, memory loss, difficulty concentrating, depression, irritability and emotional outbursts, and many other normal activities carried out by the brain.

Sorting out the cause of brain damage can be a difficult task. Neuropsychologists use tests to locate dysfunction in specific areas of the brain, such as the temporal lobes, and define the extent and severity of it.

Forceps Delivery and Epilepsy

• A clinical study published in 1990 revealed that forceps delivery of newborns dramatically increased the risk for epilepsy. The study was done by Dr. M.C. Maheshwari, in the Department of Neurology at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, in New Delhi, India. This study showed that 381 babies born by forceps delivery and 372 born without assistance were followed for 4-7 years. Twenty-two children in the forceps group developed epileptic seizures, while only 10 children in the "normal" group developed epilepsy. While neurologists believe that most cases of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) in children are due to convulsions occurring during fevers, there is a type of TLE that is caused by head trauma which results in contusions (bruising) or hemorrhaging (bleeding internally). A difficult forceps delivery can cause this type of trauma.

Symptoms of Temporal Lobe Damage

• The temporal lobes are located on the sides of the head above the ears. If the brain is damaged in these areas, these symptoms might be recognizable: difficulty recognizing faces or understanding words when spoken, difficulty identifying and verbalizing about objects, short term memory loss, changes in interest in sexual behavior, persistent talking, and an increase in aggressive behavior.

Temporal Lobe Seizures

• According to the Mayo Clinic, temporal lobe seizures may be preceded by a warning, called an "aura." The aura is a mini-seizure, and may be identified as a sudden rush of fear, deja vu, a strange smell or taste, or a "stomach in the throat" feeling. People experiencing TLE seizures remain partly conscious, but lose their awareness of their surroundings, and do not remember what happened during the seizures.

  During the seizures, TLE patients stare, smack their lips, swallow or chew repeatedly, and pick at their fingers. After the seizure, these people feel confused, are unaware that they had a seizure, and cannot recall what happened during the seizure. About half of TLE seizures are followed by grand mal seizures, which include losing consciousness.

Religion and TLE

• An unusual phenomenon among TLE patients was published in the February 2003 issue of Epilepsy & Behavior. The study was performed by Dewhurst and Beard in the UK. They studied six TLE patients who were born by forceps delivery. Each patient experienced temporal lobe trauma during delivery, including mild hemiplegia (a form of cerebral palsy which causes paralysis of part of the top half of the body). These patients had unusual mystic abilities, and all had "sudden" and dramatic religious conversion experiences.