North Staffordshire/Wigan assisted delivery trial

In a trial conducted at the North Staffordshire and Billinge Maternity Hospitals (NSMH and BMH) a total of 264 women who required an assisted delivery in the second stage of labour were randomly assigned to be delivered either by Kobayashi silicone cup ventouse or by forceps. A larger proportion (90%) of those assigned to the forceps group were actually delivered by the allocated instrument compared to those in the silicone cup group (73%). However, there was a significantly higher rate of maternal morbidity in terms of perineal trauma and discomfort in the forceps group. No differences in neonatal morbidity were detected.