How long does it take to perform an operative vaginal delivery?

We set out to see how long it takes to achieve an operative vaginal delivery in normal practice. This was a prospective survey, conducted in a major and well-staffed British maternity unit over 1 month. Sixty-two assisted vaginal deliveries occurred in the month of the study. Thirteen data collection sheets were spoiled or could not be confirmed and were discarded before analysis. Therefore the remaining data are based on 49 deliveries. The main outcome measure was the time interval between the decision to assist the vaginal delivery and the delivery. Fifty per cent of babies were delivered within 18 minutes once the decision to act had been made (range 6-85 minutes). If the primary indication for delivery was an abnormal CTG the median time was 16 minutes (mean 20 minutes). Any legal claim based on the assumption that a reasonably competent obstetrician should deliver a baby within 15 minutes cannot be supported by scientific data.