The purpose of an assisted vaginal birth is to mimic a normal (spontaneous) birth with minimum risk to you and the baby. To do this, an obstetrician or midwife uses instruments (ventouse or forceps) to help your baby to be born. There are several reasons why you may require an assisted vaginal birth; the main ones are because:

• your baby is not moving out of the birth canal as would normally be expected
• there are concerns about your baby’s wellbeing during birth
• you are unable to, or have been advised not to, push during birth

The leaflet can be downloaded as a pdf by clicking on the link below.

• An assisted vaginal birth (ventouse or forceps): information for you