An episiotomy is a surgical incision that can be done to widen your vaginal opening during childbirth. During this procedure, your doctor makes a small, straight (midline) or angled (mediolateral) ...

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 ...

You're currently following this author! Want to unfollow? Unsubscribe via the link in your email. An episiotomy is a surgical cut into the perineum, the area between the vagina and anus, made during ...

Rebecca Woolf did not want to get cut. In 2005, Woolf was in labor with her first baby, a boy, at a large Los Angeles hospital. She had pushed for no more than two minutes when her doctor announced he ...

An episiotomy is a surgical cut made into the perineum (area between the vagina and anus) to enlarge the opening before the birth of the baby’s head. It helps to ease the birth of the baby when the ...

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 ...

In instrument-assisted births, especially those with forceps, episiotomy should be considered, as it can help protect against severe perineal injury. "Episiotomy use among vaginal deliveries and the ...

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 ...

Chances are, you probably know enough about episiotomies — where an incision is made in the perineum to enlarge the vaginal opening and make room for baby's grand entrance — to know that you'd rather ...

In Canada, the rate of episiotomy during childbirth has declined in recent years, but when it comes to births assisted by forceps or vacuum, this downward trend warrants a closer look, suggests new ...