Across the United States, vacuum extraction accounts for about 2.5 percent of all vaginal births, although the rates of vacuum extraction and forceps delivery have been falling as cesarean rates continue to climb. Birth injuries occur in about seven out of every 1,000 live births. Both forceps and vacuum extraction work in the same way by guiding the baby out of the birth canal during delivery.
The vacuum looks and acts like a suction cup placed on the baby’s skull. The suction guides the baby’s head as the mother pushes. Vacuum extraction is used once the cervix is completely dilated and the mother has been pushing—the second stage of labor. Under certain circumstances, vacuum extraction may be used during a breech delivery or a C-section.
Vacuum extraction is most often used when the baby’s head is not moving down the birth canal, the position of the head cannot be accurately determined, or the baby has a bleeding disorder or a condition that affects the strength of the bones. Vacuum extraction may also be used when the doctor is concerned that the baby is too large to fit through the mother’s pelvis.