Forceps is a term from the Latin language. It is a type of clamp that is used in the most complicated births to facilitate the extraction of the baby from the mother's womb.
The forceps is an obstetric tool that attempts to simulate the mechanism of a normal birth. It has two metal blades or branches that, in the middle sector, are articulated with each other. At one end it has handles, while at the other it has curved spoons that adapt to the child's head and the curvature of the woman 's pelvis.
What the forceps allows, in short, is the development of an assisted vaginal birth , in which the doctor uses the instrument to move the child in the birth canal and guide it outwards. Simultaneously, the mother is responsible for pushing.
In certain cases, the forceps allow the fetus to rotate so that birth can occur. It also serves to avoid a cesarean section. Forceps, however, can also cause injuries to both the baby and the mother. That is why it is only used when the baby requires help to get out, the mother is exhausted, or there is some type of medical problem that makes pushing risky for the woman.
Since the use of forceps is not completely safe for either the mother or the baby, many specialists dedicate their work to avoiding instrumental deliveries by all means. Let's see below some of the most useful tips in this framework:
* that a midwife accompany the mother throughout the entire process , paying attention to all her needs;
* that the mother choose a person she trusts to remain by her side during childbirth. This can dramatically change your performance and level of relaxation, reducing the need to use forceps to complete the process;
* adopt an upright posture when it is time to expel the child. There are several, and each mother should choose the one that is most comfortable for her. In this case it is also beneficial for the midwife to help her;
* avoid the use of epidural anesthesia . It is believed that this pain reduction technique usually involves the use of forceps by 5 percent, since the drugs limit muscle mobility, making pushing more difficult. This does not mean that the only option is to endure the pain, but that there are less invasive and more "natural" alternatives, so to speak, that favor childbirth without the use of instruments.
All this leads us to wonder if a cesarean section is better than forceps. First of all, it is important to remember that each obstetric intervention is indicated for very specific cases, so there is no hierarchy regarding its quality. Gynecologists and obstetricians have sufficient training to determine which method is best to apply in each case, at each moment of childbirth, and this includes cesarean section and forceps. The woman has the right to know all the risks before giving her consent, and also to decide on an intervention different from that proposed by the doctor.
In the field of dentistry , an instrument used to extract teeth is called forceps. There are dental forceps of different shapes, depending on the type of tooth that needs to be extracted.
The concept of forceps, finally, is used figuratively to refer to what is difficult to extract. For example : "I had to get the money from him with forceps, but I got Juan to return the loan to me," "The investigator, using forceps, managed to obtain the data he needed from the suspect."