Vacuum births given backing in latest safety study

USING a vacuum to help deliver a child is as safe as using a forceps during difficult deliveries, new research indicates.

In the late 1990s, US safety watchdog the FDA warned that vacuum-assisted deliveries may result in fatal complications, particularly bleeding in the brain.

But research by Kitaw Demissie, assistant professor at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, found that while vacuum extraction has risks, it remains a safe alternative to using forceps.