Suction cups could have marred delivery, inquest hears

A Royal Oldham Hospital soctor said it was possible the use of suction cups and forceps during the delivery of a baby boy may have caused bleeding on his brain before he died.

Baby Mohammed Ibrahim had a caesarean birth in March 2012, after an assisted delivery was unsuccessful. Mohammed died the following day. A medical cause of death was given as a head injury caused by a traumatic birth.

Dr Zamurat Fatima, senior house officer and obstetrician at the hospital, performed the C-section under the supervision of consultant obstetrician Dr Victoria Hall.

The main dispute is whether special suction cups to assist delivery should have been used more than three times – as medical guidelines suggest – or if a caesarean should have been undertaken earlier.

On the second day of an inquest in Heywood, the doctors said a caesarean birth would have been riskier for mother and child, and assisted delivery was the best option. As the baby’s head was becoming more visible, cups were used five times.

On Wednesday, both Mrs Ghafoor and her aunt Rukeya Hussain had insisted that they had not been told of the birthing plan.

But Dr Fatima said she spent up to 15 minutes going through the consent form for instrument delivery and a subsequent C-section with Mrs Ghafoor.

She added: “This kind of situation happens when the patient is in pain. We always tell the patient.”

There were some issues with the suction cups, which had to be changed a few times as they would keep dislodging. There was swelling on the baby’s head, and forceps were used after the fifth attempt with the cups. When baby Mohammed died, there was bruising on his head, several fractures and bleeding on the brain.

As the forceps were not in the right position and no force was used, Dr Hall said it was unlikely they could account for the injuries.

Dr Hall said: “It’s possible that some of the bleeding could have come from the ventouse (suction cup) delivery.”

She did not rule out that pushing the baby’s head up for the caesarean could have accounted for the fractures.

The inquest concludes today.