No. 381-Assisted Vaginal Birth.

OBJECTIVES

To provide evidence-based guidelines for safe and effective assisted vaginal birth.

OUTCOMES: Prerequisites, indications, contraindications, along with maternal and neonatal morbidity associated with assisted vaginal birth.

EVIDENCE: Medline database was searched for articles published from January 1, 1985, to February 28, 2018 using the key words "assisted vaginal birth," "instrumental vaginal birth," "operative vaginal delivery," "forceps delivery," "vacuum delivery," "ventouse delivery." The quality of evidence is described using the Evaluation of Evidence criteria outlined in the Report of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care.

VALIDATION: These guidelines were approved by the Clinical Practice Obstetrics Committee and the Board of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada.