Why Doctors Step In

Posterior and difficult positions in assisted birth

Posterior and difficult positions in assisted birth

Understanding posterior fetal position In a cephalic, or head-down, labor the baby’s head usually flexes and rotates so the occiput, the back part of the skull, comes toward the front of the maternal pelvis. This is called an anterior position and is often the most mechanically favorable position for vaginal birth. In an occiput posterior […]

Assisted delivery and baby positioning

Assisted delivery and baby positioning

How baby position affects second-stage labor In the second stage of labor, the baby must descend, flex the head, rotate, and pass under the pubic arch. Clinicians usually describe fetal head position by the direction the occiput, or back of the baby’s head, is facing. An occiput anterior position often fits the pelvic curve efficiently. […]

Assisted delivery with epidural

Assisted delivery with epidural

What assisted delivery with epidural means Assisted delivery, also called assisted vaginal birth or operative vaginal birth, means that an obstetric clinician uses an instrument to help guide the baby through the final part of the birth canal. The two main instruments are vacuum extraction, which uses a suction cup placed on the fetal scalp, […]

Assisted delivery with long labor or large baby

Assisted delivery with long labor or large baby

Why long labor and fetal size matter In clinical practice, assisted vaginal birth is most often discussed during the second stage of labor, after full cervical dilation, when pushing has been prolonged, maternal effort is becoming ineffective, or fetal heart rate patterns suggest that birth should happen sooner. A long second stage can reflect many […]

Why assistance is more common in first birth

Why assistance is more common in first birth

First birth has a different labor pattern Parity, the number of previous births, strongly shapes the course of labor. In a first birth, the cervix, pelvic floor, and birth canal are doing this work for the first time. Cervical effacement and dilation may take longer, and descent of the fetal head through the pelvis can […]

Assisted delivery in first and second pregnancy

Assisted delivery in first and second pregnancy

What assisted delivery means Assisted delivery is most often shorthand for assisted vaginal delivery, where an obstetric clinician uses forceps or a vacuum device to help the baby be born vaginally. It is not the same as inducing labor, augmenting contractions, or having a cesarean birth. It is usually considered late in labor, after full […]