Part 4 of 6: Benefits of Forceps
Benefits of Forceps (Versus Vaginal Delivery)
It is currently estimated that 10 to 15% of all babies born in the are delivered via operative vaginal delivery, of which about two-thirds are forceps deliveries and the remainder are vacuum deliveries. The great majority of these forceps deliveries are outlet or low-forceps deliveries. These deliveries pose little or no risk to mother or baby and are an advantage in some situations. For example, a baby who is shown to have an abnormal heart rate (either by use of a fetal heart rate monitor or monitoring with a stethoscope) can be safely delivered by outlet or low forceps delivery and promptly evaluated with resuscitation as needed. Likewise, a woman who has been in the second stage of labor for several hours, who is unable to make further progress for whatever reason, and whose baby is at a station and position consistent with an outlet or low forceps delivery, will clearly benefit from such an operative vaginal delivery, with negligible risks to her baby. Finally, a woman who has a medical condition that prevents her from pushing in the second stage of labor can benefit from an assisted vaginal delivery. The most common examples of this include women with significant heart disease, respiratory compromise, or certain neurologic conditions.
Forceps delivery places a woman at higher risk for blood transfusion and infection than does spontaneous vaginal delivery. However, compared to women who deliver by cesarean section following the onset of labor, women who deliver with forceps have significantly lower rates of these complications