Adult, mostly multiparous, women of an average maternal
age of 26.2 years (n=529, 56.8 %) were included. A high-risk
pregnancy, characterized by maternal or fetal diseases, had
occurred in 333 (35.6 %) vaginal births during a highcomplexity
referral-based obstetric service. Other clinical
and obstetric characteristics are summarized in Table 1.
Forceps were used in 7.4 % of vaginal deliveries (Table 1).
In most cases, forceps were used for primiparous, rather than