BMJ 2002;324:945-946 ( 20 April )

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Episiotomy rates in primiparous women in Latin America: hospital based descriptive study

Fernando Althabe, researcher in perinatology, José M Belizán, director, Eduardo Bergel, epidemiologist. 

Latin American Center for Perinatology, Pan American Health Organization, World Health Organization, Casilla de Correos 627, Montevideo 11000, Uruguay

Correspondence to: F Althabe althabef@clap.ops-oms.org

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Current scientific evidence shows that routine episiotomy is not justified: it has no benefit for mother or infant, increases the need for perineal suturing and the risk of complications to the healing process at seven days post partum, produces unnecessary pain and discomfort, and has potentially harmful long term effects.^1-3 We report rates of episiotomy in primiparous women in Latin American hospitals according to characteristics of hospitals and caregivers.

	Participants, methods, and results

We conducted a hospital based descriptive study based on data routinely collected in a perinatal information system.⁴ We analysed data from 122 hospitals in 16 Latin American countries that had reported 416 852 deliveries between 1995 and 1998. We selected hospitals reporting more than 35 spontaneous vaginal deliveries in primiparous women, which is the sample size required to give a 95% confidence interval of 10% either way for an episiotomy rate of 90%. This selection comprised 105 hospitals in 14 countries, which reported 94 472 spontaneous vaginal deliveries in primiparous . . . [Full text of this article]

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This article has been cited by other articles:

• Althabe, F., Buekens, P., Bergel, E., Belizan, J. M., Campbell, M. K., Moss, N., Hartwell, T., Wright, L. L., the Guidelines Trial Group, (2008). A Behavioral Intervention to Improve Obstetrical Care. NEJM 358: 1929-1940 [Abstract] [Full text]  
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