Suction bell birth

Eva Rudolf-Müller is a freelance writer in the medical team. She studied human medicine and newspaper sciences and has repeatedly worked in both areas - as a doctor in the clinic, as a reviewer, and as a medical journalist for various specialist journals. She is currently working in online journalism, where a wide range of medicine is offered to everyone.

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A suction bell birth is a form of assisted birth, i.e. a delivery that is supported from outside. This is necessary, for example, if a standstill occurs in the final phase of the birth, if your baby shows signs of increased stress or if a longer birth has used up all of your or your baby's reserves of strength. Read more about the suction cup birth here.

What is a suction bell birth?

During the suction cup birth (vacuum extraction), the doctor helps a child to give birth with the help of the suction cup - a small hemisphere made of silicone or metal that is placed on the unborn baby's head, where it adheres firmly by means of negative pressure. With the next contraction and with the mother pressing hard, the child is then pulled out.

Around six percent of all births are a suction cup birth.

When is a suction cup delivery necessary?

If your baby's head is visibly at the pelvic outlet during the expulsion phase of the birth, but then comes to a standstill, the doctor will take supportive measures to promote the birth. The delay in birth carries the risk that your child will no longer be adequately supplied with oxygen. Therefore, he now has to be helped quickly into the world - for example in the context of a suction bell birth.

Your doctor will also carry out a suction cup birth if you are exhausted from a long period of labor or if the “contraceptive recorder” (cardiotocograph) indicates a lack of oxygen in the child. Poor labor is also a reason to end the birth quickly with assistance. There are also diseases that do not allow you to press hard, as is necessary in the final phase of childbirth (such as certain eye diseases). Then external support from the delivering doctor is also required.

Requirements for a suction cup birth

A suction cup birth is only possible with a child in the normal head position. In addition, the cervix must be fully opened and the amniotic sac must be burst. As a final prerequisite for a suction cup delivery, the child's head must have already entered the maternal pelvis.

What happens during a suction cup delivery

First, the mother's bladder is emptied using a catheter (a full bladder would be a mechanical obstacle to childbirth). Then the woman is given epidural anesthesia (PDA) or local anesthesia. Now the doctor places a suction cup of the appropriate size on the child's head. The suction bell is connected to a pump. With their help, a negative pressure is generated in the suction cup so that it adheres firmly to the head. After the doctor has checked that the suction cup is correctly seated on the child's head and that no maternal soft tissue has been detected with the suction cup, a test is carried out. This is used to check whether the suction cup is seated firmly enough and whether the child's head follows the train. Then things get serious with the suction bell birth:

During the next contractions - with the mother pressing hard - carefully pull the suction cup and thus the head of the child, downwards along the pelvic axis so that the child's head can be born. As soon as he has stepped through to the neck-hair line, the doctor removes the suction cup by slowly releasing the suction. The rest of the child's body can now be born as in a natural vaginal delivery.

After the suction cup delivery, the mother is thoroughly examined. If the vagina was injured during delivery, the wounds are immediately treated professionally.

Assistance with the suction bell birth

The suction bell delivery is usually performed under epidural or local anesthesia. If the perineum is exposed to very strong pressure, a perineal incision (episiotomy) may be made.

With the so-called Kristeller handle, an assistant can support the birth of the child's head: To do this, he presses with both hands or the forearm on the abdomen of the woman giving birth during a contraction, but in a dosed manner on the upper part of the uterus (fundus) in the direction of the occiput of the child. For you as the woman giving birth, this pressure should hardly be painful.

What a suction cup birth means for your baby

After a suction cup birth, you may notice a swelling about the size of a fist on the baby’s head, which was caused by the suction of the suction cup. This swelling is harmless and usually disappears within a few days.

A serious consequence of the suction cup birth can be cerebral haemorrhage in the child, especially if the suction cup breaks off due to a little too little pressure. For this reason, a suction bell delivery cannot be carried out in premature babies, as the risk of cerebral haemorrhage is increased here.

Advantages of the suction bell birth

The suction cup delivery is a great way to end a slow birth quickly. Their advantage is that they can be used quickly without compressing the child's head, as is the case, for example, with forceps delivery. Discuss the various options of assisted birth and in particular the advantages and disadvantages as well as the process of a suction bell birth with your doctor in advance. Then you are well informed in an emergency.

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