Childbirth where the doctor uses forceps to help the baby out of the mother’s uterus.
Use of a hinged device with two curved arms that are inserted into a woman’s vagina during childbirth and fit around a child’s head, being then used to aid delivery. Forceps are generally removed as soon as the head is delivered, allowing the rest of the delivery to proceed normally, but they can leave some temporary marks on the head and face. They are used sometimes in cases of fetal distress, especially early in the delivery or when the mother is unable to push out the baby on her own. Forceps have been used somewhat less often in recent years, as vacuum extractions and cesarean sections have become more common.
Obstetrical procedure in which forceps are inserted through the vagina to grasp the head of the fetus and draw it through the birth canal, performed to shorten labor or quickly deliver a baby in distress. The forceps usually leaves marks on the baby’s skull and sometimes causes injury; forceps deliveries have declined in recent years as the rate of Cesarean deliveries has increased.
A birth in which forceps (tonglike instruments) are used in the delivery of a baby. The forceps blades are placed on both sides of the baby’s head; gently, the baby is pulled from the birth canal. Forceps are used during a prolonged labor or when a baby, far along in the birth canal, needs to be delivered quickly because of fetal distress. Forceps typically are used in a breech birth or when the baby’s heart rate indicates that delivery should be accomplished quickly; when the contractions fail to push the baby down the birth canal; or when the mother is too exhausted to push or has a medical problem that keeps her from bearing down.
Delivery of a child by application of forceps to the fetal head. Forceps deliveries are called outlet when the scalp of the fetus is visible at the vaginal introitus and the fetal skull has descended to the pelvic floor. Low forceps deliveries are performed when the fetal skull is at or > station +2 cm and not on the pelvic floor. A mid forceps delivery occurs when the station is above +2 cm but the head is engaged. High forceps deliveries, which were performed in the past, are no longer used.
In challenging childbirth situations, specially designed forceps are employed to assist in the gentle extraction of the baby’s head.
Forceps delivery comes into play if the mother is too exhausted or incapable of delivering her baby without help, or if there are indications of fetal distress. Forceps can also be employed to manage the baby’s head in cases of breech delivery, once the body has been delivered, to avoid excessively quick birth. Additionally, if the baby’s head becomes lodged within the mother’s pelvis, requiring rotation for successful delivery, forceps may be utilized.
The mother is administered a pain reliever alongside either local or epidural anesthesia. She is positioned lying on her back, with her legs elevated in stirrups. The use of forceps is only permissible if the cervix, which is the neck of the uterus, is fully opened and the baby’s head has descended into the pelvis. Typically, an episiotomy, which is a surgical incision in the perineum, is required for a delivery involving forceps. The blades of the forceps are positioned on both sides of the baby’s head, just in front of the ears. Gentle pulling is then applied to facilitate the delivery of the baby.
The process of recuperation and attention given to both the mother and baby typically aligns with that which follows a normal vaginal birth.