Forceps and vacuum
An alternative to cesarean at the very end, with its own risks.
If you are fully dilated and pushing but the baby needs help, forceps or a vacuum can be used instead of a cesarean. Both carry real risks, including severe tearing and rare newborn bleeding inside the skull. Set against that, the alternative here is usually a cesarean with the baby’s head deep in the pelvis, which is the most difficult cesarean there is.
Where this comes from:
225. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Operative vaginal birth. ACOG Practice Bulletin No. 219. Obstet Gynecol. 2020;135(4):e149-e159.
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