Operative Vaginal Delivery: Forceps and Vacuum
Forceps and vacuum extractors are commonly used to assist in the delivery of neonates. A 2005 article in the Obstetrics and Gynecology journal compared outcomes of patients who underwent these procedures and it was determined that births assisted with vacuum extraction were more often associated with cephalohematoma and shoulder dystocia whereas forceps deliveries were more often associated with maternal third and fourth degree perineal lacerations. Click here to see the journal article abstract. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has put out Technical and Practice Bulletins regarding these operative delivery techniques. To help in locating these bulletins, here are abstracts for ACOG Technical Bulletin number 196 and the committee opinion number 208. Additionally, you might want to review ACOG Practice Bulletin number 17.