Parents seek apology after baby’s head allegedly ‘gouged’ during birth

Parents are seeking an apology after their baby's head was allegedly "gouged" during birth.

Cecily and Paul Dantam welcomed their daughter late last year in Nashville, Tennesse. The couple have said that their baby was injured during the birth because of the amniotic hook used to break Cecily's waters. The new mum described the birth as "traumatising." She told local news channel WKRN:

“It was a nightmare. That birth was traumatising. “(The midwife) went in and she was like, ‘This is a tough water bag. Oh my god, this is so tough,’ and she was just jamming it in there."

The couple said that the "jamming" led to scratches on the crown of baby Lorelai's head, which have since healed. When the hospital did not take their complaint seriously, they took to Facebook to make their experience public. The Dantams said that the midwife was "digging" with the hook for 5 to 10 minutes. The couple said the midwife thought she was digging at the amniotic sac but it was actually the baby's head. “She spent 5 to 10 minutes digging with the hook and telling us it was the hardest water bag that she had ever felt," said Cecily.

“I just want an apology. I don’t want to have to pay for an injury that was done to my daughter by the hospital staff. That’s not right to me."

Director of the Vanderbilt Nurse Midwifery Practice, Melissa Davis, told WKRN that scratches to babies' heads are not common, but that they "can happen." She said:

 "It can happen. It’s not considered malpractice, it’s not considered poor care; it is just something that can occur during rupturing of membranes."