OdonAssist: New inflatable device offers another option for assisted childbirth

A soft inflatable device called OdonAssist is being tested and introduced as a new option for assisted vaginal births, giving doctors an alternative to traditional forceps and vacuum extraction.

OdonAssist: New inflatable device offers another option for assisted childbirth
A new medical device is offering doctors another way to help mothers when a vaginal birth needs assistance, potentially expanding the options available alongside forceps and vacuum extraction.
Known as OdonAssist, the device uses a soft inflatable cuff that is positioned around a baby's head during an assisted vaginal birth. Once correctly placed, the cuff is inflated and doctors can use the device to gently guide the baby during contractions. Unlike vacuum-assisted delivery, the system does not rely on suction. Mnhi
The technology was recently featured on BBC's Tech Now, where presenter Shiona McCallum met mothers and hospital staff involved with the device. The programme focused on what the BBC described as the first significant new assisted-birth innovation in decades. TheTVDB
OdonAssist has been under development for many years. The idea originated with Argentine inventor Jorge Odón in 2006 before being developed further through collaboration involving medical researchers, engineers and maternity specialists. Southmead Hospital in Bristol later became an important centre for testing the technology, carrying out the first assisted vaginal birth in Europe using the device in 2018. Bristol NHS Foundation Trust
The device consists mainly of an applicator and a soft sleeve. The applicator helps doctors position the sleeve, while an inflatable air cuff secures it around the baby's head. A built-in pressure limiter controls inflation, and handles on the sleeve allow the doctor to assist the delivery. Mnhi
Researchers have been studying whether the device can provide an effective alternative to established assisted-birth methods.
One UK study involved 104 women who required an assisted vaginal birth at Southmead Hospital. Researchers examined whether OdonAssist could be used successfully and safely enough to justify larger trials. The study found encouraging results and identified potential advantages, particularly around reducing soft-tissue injuries in newborn babies, although researchers said larger studies were still needed. ScienceDirect
Another study involving 104 women in Besançon, France, also examined the device's safety and effectiveness. Researchers reported positive experiences among mothers and medical staff and concluded that the results supported moving towards a larger randomised controlled trial. ScienceDirect
OdonAssist received CE marking in 2025, allowing it to be introduced in countries that recognise the European certification. Bristol NHS officials said in May 2026 that more than 300 babies had already been delivered with the device across Europe since July 2025. Bristol NHS Foundation Trust
By September, Maternal Newborn Health Innovations, the company developing OdonAssist, said the number had passed 600 births and that the device was being used across 48 hospitals in the UK and Europe. Those figures come from the company and should therefore be understood as manufacturer-reported data. LinkedIn
The technology is still being evaluated, particularly in the UK.
In a response to Parliament in June 2026, the UK Department of Health and Social Care said OdonAssist had not yet been fully evaluated against existing assisted-birth methods and that a randomised controlled trial was underway. The government also noted that clinicians require appropriate training before using the device. Parliament Questions and Statements
That distinction matters. OdonAssist is not simply replacing forceps or vacuum extraction, both of which remain established methods of assisting difficult births. Instead, researchers are examining whether the inflatable device can become an additional option and whether its early results can be reproduced in larger clinical studies.
For mothers and maternity teams, the attraction is straightforward: having more choices when labour becomes complicated.
With hundreds of births already involving the technology and further research underway, OdonAssist represents an unusual development in an area of medicine where the basic tools used for assisted childbirth have changed relatively little for generations.