Earlier this year, I was put in touch with Kelly*, a 27 year old woman who experienced a non-consensual episiotomy during the birth of her first child. Kelly had posted a home video of the birth scene ...

Episiotomy during vaginal delivery was first recommended in 1920 as a way to protect the pelvic floor from lacerations and protect the fetal head from trauma. It was rapidly adopted as a standard ...

Having an episiotomy, a surgical cut to the vagina during childbirth, doubles the risk of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) in women with moderate or severe anemia, according to new research published in ...

An episiotomy procedure is done so that the opening of the vagina can be made larger to facilitate the birth of a baby. An incision is made in the perineum, the portion between anus and the opening of ...

It’s a surgical cut made during childbirth that doctors have been officially warned for more than a decade does more harm to women than good. Mothers who receive episiotomies – an incision at the ...

Childbirth puts the perineum, the area between the vagina and anus, under immense pressure. During vaginal delivery, this tissue stretches to allow the baby to pass. Doctors sometimes make a small ...

Episiotomies have a place in maternity care but should not be routinely performed. Paul Curto/Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA It’s difficult to imagine how something as big as a baby’s head can come out of what ...

Kimberly Turbin (seen here with her son) has filed a lawsuit against Dr. Alex Abbassi; she alleges he gave her a forced episiotomy during labor in 2013. (Photo: Lindsay Askins at spotofserendipity.com ...

DEAR MAYO CLINIC: I am pregnant with my first child and was told by my obstetrician that in some circumstances an episiotomy is necessary. I thought this was no longer done and that it's actually ...

Although episiotomy is one of the most common surgical procedures carried out, its medical value is open to debate. There’s also debate over whether an episiotomy is preferable to a natural tear ...

Experts agree the procedure should be used sparingly, but rates vary widely and many questions remain By Cassandra Willyard This story was originally published on April 30, 2019 in NYT Parenting. The ...

Expert Rev of Obstet Gynecol. 2010;5(3):301-309. Other studies continued to show an association of midline episiotomy and severe perineal lacerations. [11–14] These investigators found that the most ...