What Happens with a Vacuum Assisted Vaginal Delivery

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Assisted vaginal deliveries are commonly used to help your baby get out of the birth canal if they’re experiencing stress or you’re too tired to push anymore. The delivery may be assisted by forceps or, more commonly, a vacuum device. A vacuum assisted vaginal delivery is relatively safe with few complications.

Vacuum Assisted Vaginal Delivery: The Procedure
A vacuum is used to help your baby when you’re too exhausted or your baby’s heart rate is not what it should be. Your doctor will attach a rounded, flexible cup to your child’s head while it’s in the birth canal. This cup is attached to either a handheld pump or an electric pump which creates a vacuum pressure to hold the cup on the baby’s head. Next, you’ll push while the doctor gently and carefully pulls on the cup to move the baby out of the birth canal. The most common side effect of the procedure is a bruise on your baby’s head which goes away after a few weeks, as well as jaundice and retinal hemorrhages, which is bleeding in the eye that also occurs with a non-assisted birth.