Delivering Babies by Vacuum

QUESTION: After the delivery of my baby, the doctor explained that he had
pulled the baby out with a vacuum cleaner. I know that can't be so, but
that's what it sounded like! And the baby's head looked like it might have
happened. Do you know what he was talking about?
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ANSWER: The moments following the birth of a baby are not always the best for
explanations, and sometimes we replace unfamiliar terms with words that make
more sense to us. What he probably told you was that he used a vacuum
extractor to aid in the delivery of your baby. When labor is prolonged, and
not proceeding at the proper pace, or when the mother is exhausted by her
exertions, or when the baby is suffering (fetal distress), the physician must
help with the birthing process. Many physicians use forceps to accomplish
this, but new developments with vacuum extractors have provided a new and
useful technique that may be used instead. A cup made of metal or soft
plastic is carefully placed on the baby's head (that's what caused the
markings you noticed) and connected by a long plastic tubing to a vacuum pump.
During each contraction, pressure is decreased, and additional traction is
provided to aid the mother in delivery. The vacuum extractor is less
traumatic to the baby than forceps, and applies less force to the head. It
can however, take a longer time to deliver using this method than by forceps
delivery. The marking on the head (it's called a caput) usually disappears in
a day or so and has no lasting effects or clinical importance.