ABSTRACT
This is first assessed by abdominal palpation and the amount of the head palpable in the abdomen is recorded in fifths. For a routine assisted delivery performed in the labour room, none of the fetal head should be palpable in the mother’s abdomen. If up to one-fifth is palpable, there may be scope for a trial of assisted vaginal delivery in the operating theatre; the thinking behind this approach will be explained later. If more than one-fifth is palpable, the head is high and instrumental vaginal delivery should not be attempted.
