Two images of childbirth: plate 23 (left) shows child in womb with umbilical cord and plate 24 (right) shows forceps being used to deliver child. Forceps are a surgical instrument that resembles a pair of tongs and can be used in surgery for grabbing, maneuvering, or removing various things within or from the body. They can be used to assist the delivery of a baby, but with the ability to perform a cesarean section relatively safely, and the introduction of the ventouse or vacuum extractor, the use of forceps and training in the technique of its use has sharply declined.