Forceps Birth

Some arrivals are gentle. And there are arrivals in which a person is pulled into the world — literally. A forceps birth is a birth process in which the child does not make it through the birth canal on its own. Metal instruments grip the head, and an external force pulls where the baby's own impulse is not enough. Medically, this is often necessary. Sometimes life-saving. And yet something remains — an imprint that goes deeper than the marks on the skin.

Because the forceps birth is more than an obstetric intervention. It is the first experience of a pattern that accompanies many of those affected throughout their entire lives: being compelled. Being pulled toward something you do not want. Being moved by a force that is not your own. Before the first word is spoken, the body has learned a language — and it says: my arrival was not voluntary.