Vacuum deliveries

Vacuum assisted deliveries are safe alternative to forceps deliveries despite a warning.

A new research published in the British medical journal(BMJ) suggests that vacuum assisted deliveries are a safe alternative to forceps deliveries despite a warning by the US Food and Drug Administration in 1998 that such deliveries may result in fatal complications.

The researchers compared the risk of death and birth injuries between vacuum extraction and forceps deliveries for over 11 million singleton live births in the United States.

The overall risk was similar between infants delivered by vacuum or by forceps, suggesting that vacuum extraction is at least as safe as forceps.

Also, the relatively low rates of fatal complications among vacuum deliveries argue against the FDA warning. Encouraging instrumental vaginal deliveries may help to reduce the rates of caesarean section.