Forceps Delivery at the Maternity Ward of Donka National Teaching Hospital Conakry (Guinea): Indications and Maternal-Fœtal Prognosis

Abstract

Objectives: The objectives of this work were to describe the socio-demographic, clinical and prognostic characteristics of forceps deliveries at the maternity ward of the Donka National Teaching Hospital of Conakry. Parturients and Method: This was a prospective and descriptive study of all forceps deliveries performed at the Donka National Hospital maternity ward over a 6-month period from April 1, 2018 to September 30, 2018. Results: We performed 90 fetal extractions by forceps on 3518 deliveries i.e. a frequency of 2.55%. The socio-demographic profile of the parturient women was that of a young primiparous woman with an average age of 21.20 years and a full-term pregnancy with an average gestational age of 39 weeks of amenorrhoea. Fore position varieties were the most frequent with, in order of frequency, the fore left occipito-iliac (61.3%) and the fore right occipito-iliac (22.22%). Posterior varieties accounted for 15.55% of cases. Clinical pelvimetry showed that 88.89% of parturients had a practicable pelvis, while 11.11% had a moderately narrow pelvis. Acute fetal suffering was the most common indication (55.56%), followed by maternal exhaustion (27.78%) and prolonged expulsion (16.67%). All forceps were performed by doctors. We noted 8 cases of forceps failure (8.88%) that required a cesarean section. Maternal complications were dominated by soft tissue lesions, including 7 cases of perineal tearing (7.77%); 4 cases of vaginal tearing (4.44%); 3 cases of cervical tearing (3.33%) and 2 cases of hemorrhage of delivery by uterine atony (2.22%). No cases of maternal death have been recorded. The majority of newborns had a normal birth weight (88.88%) and more than half of newborns (66.66%) had an Apgar score below 7 out of 10 at the first minute. By the fifth minute there was an improvement in Apgar’s score from an average of 5 to 8 out of 10. Five newborns died, or 5.55%. Conclusion: Forceps extractions are less and less practiced in our maternity wards. Their bad reputation has something to do with it, but this is not always justified, because complications are rare and minimal if the indications are well laid out and the operator experienced. It therefore seems important to reposition this instrument, which still retains its place in obstetrical practices.