Forceps Can Be a Valid Tool to Use in Delivery

What happened to Donna and Andreas Buchholz (Times, Sept. 12) is tragic. I’m certainly glad that they will now have the means to provide their child with the services and support that he’ll need to survive and achieve his potential. My comments are not meant to diminish the horror that they have endured or the formidable challenge they face.

I do, however, wish to comment on the contention that a forceps delivery could have caused this child’s injury. Your readers should know that despite a number of misconceptions about the use of forceps, they are still a valuable adjunct in obstetric practice. Their use is considered good medical practice when indicated and used by a competent practitioner. The cause of the injury, it appeared, remains unknown, and medical experts did testify that the damage could have occurred before the child was born.

As a health care professional and a mother of two healthy children delivered by Dr. Drachenberg (one with the use of forceps), I found him to be professionally competent and consistently patient-oriented. His philosophy regarding forceps and other medical procedures mirrored mine--to intervene in the natural process of labor only when absolutely necessary. Highly regarded by other physicians, nurses and patients alike, Dr. Drachenberg is among the gentlest of obstetrician/gynecologists. I am sorry that he must be involved in such a wrenching situation.

SALLY KILBY, Registered nurse

Glendale