For years now, the conventional belief has been that a forceps delivery is more dangerous for newborn, than delivery through a vacuum pump or a C-section. A new study seeks to dispel that belief. According to the study, delivery through forceps is probably less dangerous for a newborn than vacuum deliveries or C-sections.

The research was led by obstetricians from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore. The researchers analyzed data involving more than 400,000 births to first-time mothers. They found that the babies that were delivered via forceps delivery were about 45% less likely to suffer birth trauma like seizures or bleeding in or around the brain, compared to those who were delivered by a vacuum delivery or a C-section.

Out of the more than 15,000 births in the study that were via forceps delivery, just .12% had a seizure at birth. For babies that were delivered by C-section or via vacuum deliveries, the rate was around .3%. Risks of other complications like subdural hemorrhage and intraventricular hemorrhage were even lower in forceps deliveries. However, cesarean sections were found to be linked to a lower risk of subdural hemorrhage, or bleeding around the brain.

The study does not offer Arizona medical malpractice lawyers any conclusive evidence about which type of delivery is safer. However, it does seem to challenge the traditional belief that forceps deliveries are much more dangerous than C-sections and vacuum deliveries. C-sections have become widely popular in the United States, and in 2007, approximately 1/3rd of all American births were through C-sections. According to the obstetricians, there does not seem to be enough evidence that these deliveries are safer than forceps deliveries.

There could be a simple reason why the risks of seizures are lower with forceps deliveries. Seizures occur because of a lack of oxygen supply to the brain, and it's easier to get a baby out of the mother using forceps, than it is by C-sections or vacuum pumps.