The condemned fundal pressure maneuver: time to reconsider?

Due to a concern of severe adverse neonatal and maternal complications, fundal pressure (FP) maneuver has been discouraged by several national obstetric guidelines as well as the World Health Organization. In this manuscript, we argue that previously published evidence pointing to unfavorable effects of FP might not be relevant to the common practice. Our main concern is that the inherent limitations of published studies undermining the association of FP with various obstetric complications, in conjunction with fear of medical-legal implications, might lead to an absolute avoidance of this procedure, with a potential subsequent increase in vacuum-assisted and cesarean deliveries. We suggest establishing standardized guidelines for FP application, intend to prevent application of uncontrollable and aggressive pressure, assist the obstetricians in case of legal claims, and yet to preserve the use of gentle and respectful FP application to benefit the delivery.