There are certain conditions that must exist, before forceps can be can be used to assist the baby to be born vaginally.
These include:
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The cervix needs to be completely open. |
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The waters must be broken. |
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The baby's head must be engaged. |
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An internal vaginal examination needs to be done, to determine the position of the baby's head, and how far down the birth canal it has come. |
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The woman's bladder must be emptied (usually a catheter is briefly inserted into the woman's bladder, and then removed before the forceps are put in). |
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The caregiver should be skilled and experienced at using forceps. |
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The woman should have adequate pain relief (either an epidural, spinal or pudendal block). |
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The caregiver should be able to determine the position of the baby's head, to be able to apply the forceps correctly (this can sometimes be difficult). |
NOTE: Forceps can also be used for premature babies and to deliver the head of the baby during a Caesarean birth. They may sometimes be used to deliver breech babies, to 'control' the delivery of the baby's head, after the baby's body is born.
Pain relief
If you need to have forceps, then you will also need some good, effective local (or
regional) pain relief. Gas and narcotic injections are usually not enough to give adequate pain relief for this procedure. In the case of an emergency, (for example if the baby is very distressed), the gas may be all you have time for. In most cases though, there is plenty of time to give the pain relief required.
The pain relief most commonly used can include:
Epidural or spinal
Pudendal block