Labour and Delivery

The Second Stage
Pushing a baby into the world is one of the most terrifying and exhilarating moments in a woman's (and a man's) life. There is a balance to be struck between inappropriate early intervention (assisting with a forceps or vacuum extractor/ventouse), or delaying until the mother is exhausted or the condition of the baby deteriorates to a dangerous level.

Ventouse or forceps assisted delivery
A ventouse or vacuum cup is often applied to the baby's head in the second stage, to assist with the delivery of the baby. The ventouse is now the first choice, as it causes less trauma to the mother's pelvic floor. Occasionally a forceps is preferable to a ventouse, e.g. where the mother is unable to push with contractions.

The main reasons for using the Ventouse or forceps are;
Concern for the wellbeing of the baby,
Maternal exhaustion or lack of progress with pushing.
The available evidence suggests that prolonged pushing or pushing before the cervix is fully dilated increases the risk of excessive damage to the pelvic floor. This can lead to problems with incontinence and prolapse of the pelvic floor, as well as problems with sexual dysfunction. These risks must be weighed up against the mother's natural wish to push her own baby out without the assistance of a ventouse or forceps.