Head Trauma Caused by Using Vacuum at Birth

Birth can be an overwhelming experience. If you have difficulty pushing your baby's head out, your doctor may choose to assist your birth by using a vacuum. However, the assisted birth does come with a few risks.

Common Injuries

• The vacuum extractor often causes a mound of scalp tissue on top of the baby's head, referred to as a chignon. The vacuum can also cause cuts and bruises.

More Severe Injury

• The most worrisome injury from a vacuum extraction is a subgaleal hemorrhage. This occurs when the veins rupture, and, thus, the baby bleeds between her scalp and skull. This injury is potentially life-threatening, but it is also very rare.

Why the Vacuum Causes Injury

• The vacuum pulls the baby's scalp away from her skull, allowing the opportunity for injury.

Risk Factors

• Several factors can lead to an injury: leaving the cup on too long (more than 20 or 30 minutes), using a lot of force, rotating the cup rather than the baby's head, and allowing the cup to pop off several times.

Is it Safe?

• As long as health care providers follow protocol for vacuum extraction, it is safe.