Journal of Research in Medical Sciences (Jan 2011)
A comparison between early maternal and neonatal complications of restrictive episiotomy and routine episiotomy in primiparous vaginal delivery
Abstract
Background: Routine episiotomy is a controversial issue among gynecologists. The aim of this study was to compare early maternal and neonatal complications of restrictive episiotomy and routine episiotomy in primiparus vaginal delivery. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study, two groups of primiparus normal vaginal delivery (NVD) cases with routine and restrictive episiotomy were studied. Immediately and in the first 24 and 48 hours after delivery, specific charts were used to compare the two groups in terms of perineal laceration size, neonatal Apgar score and post-delivery. For data analysis, SPSS was used to conduct student t-test and Kruskal-Wallis test. A p-value 0.05). Conclusions: Restrictive episiotomy results in low maternal complications. Therefore, avoiding routine episiotomy in unnecessary conditions would increase the rate of intact perineal and minor perineal trauma and reduce postpartum delivery pain with no adverse effects neither on maternal nor neonatal morbidities.
