Traumatic intracranial haemorrhage in firstborn infants and delivery with obstetric forceps

Exclusive of breech presentation, traumatic intracranial haemorrhage was demonstrated at necropsy on 27 occasions in 36 420 consecutive firstborn infants. All 27 were forceps deliveries. The main conclusion is that serious injury to the forecoming head at birth is almost invariably a direct effect of forceps. The relevance of this conclusion to some aspects of contemporary obstetric practice is discussed briefly.