Prevalence and factors associated with episiotomy practice among primiparous women in mulago national referral hospital Uganda
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Date
2019-11-01
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
International Journal of Pregnancy & Child Birth
Abstract
Background; Episiotomy, an obstetric procedure introduced into practice without any clear scientific evidence showing its benefits, became almost a procedure performed on all parturient women. Recently, a liberal episiotomy has been discouraged and WHO
recommends an episiotomy rate of about 10% or less. The procedure substantially increases the risk of anal sphincter damage, improper wound healing, hematoma, infections, and perineal pain. The study was aimed at investigating the prevalence and factors associated with episiotomy among primiparous parturients in Mulago National Referral.
Methods: A cross-sectional study using a researcher administered questionnaires was conducted in Hospital Obstetrics and Gynecological Department in February and March 2018. Two hundred forty-nine participants were systematically recruited on the first postnatal day after meeting the inclusion criteria and the socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics were recorded. Logistic regression was used to determine the factors associated with the occurrences of episiotomy.
Results: The prevalence of episiotomy was 73% (181/249) (CI 67-78). Mothers whose second stage of labor lasted between; 31-60 minutes were 3.6 times more likely to be made an episiotomy, (CI; 1.66-7.86, p=0.001), the odds further doubles if the second stage of labor was prolonged, lasting 60 minutes or greater OR=7.2 (CI; 1.46-35.64, p=0.015). Episiotomy was also found to be associated with gestational age above 37 weeks OR=1.8 (CI; 1.28-2.40 p<0.001).
Conclusion: The prevalence of episiotomy among primiparous is high yet higher episiotomy rates are associated with increasing morbidities and lack of benefits. The factors associated with episiotomy practice were gestational age above 37 weeks and prolonged second stage.
Description
Keywords
Episiotomy, Perineal tears, Primiparity
Citation
Pebolo, F., Judith, A., & Dan, K. K. (2019). Prevalence and factors associated with episiotomy practice among primiparous women in mulago national referral hospital Uganda. International Journal of Pregnancy & Child Birth, 5(5), 197-201.