Episiotomy

Episiotomy
Episiotomies used to be done routinely but now are only given if the midwife feels the the perineum will tear badly. However, this is also, unfortunately, a practice that is based on little (and questionable) evidence which also claimed that an episiotomy prevented brain damage to the baby because it meant it no longer had to pound his head against the perineum (Oxorn-Foote H, 1986)!

There is also the belief that a smooth cut through the muscle will heal better than a jagged tear. In fact, the opposite is true – it is much easier for a tear to heal because the jagged edges join together more easily than the smooth edges of a cut.
An episiotomy will be given (usually after a local anaesthetic has been administered) if forceps become necessary or if the baby needs more room to be born but they will not prevent more serious tears from occurring (Sleep, Roberts and Chalmers, 1989)