Forceps have been used for about 300 years to deliver babies. There are several different types, but they all look like salad tongs and are made out of steel. They are placed gently around the baby's head when the head is well 'down' in you pelvis, and an Obstetrician will gently but firmly pull in one direction to deliver the baby. Forceps are just as safe for the baby as Ventouse (vacuum cup); some would argue that they are safer. They will usually cause small marks on the baby's head (these disappear within days). When forceps were used for rotating babies' heads, they could sometimes damage vaginal skin and even the cervix but these rotational forceps deliveries are very rarely done nowadays, and only an experienced Obstetrician will perform a forceps delivery anyway.
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