Pushing and Manual Perineal Protection Techniques

Plain-language summary

Perineal trauma during vaginal delivery is very common, especially in countries with a high prevalence of episiotomy. Perineal traumas can range from tears limited to the skin, subcutaneous and vaginal mucosa to severe tears involving the anal sphincter and rectal mucosa. Perineal trauma is associated with short-term morbidities such as bleeding, infection, pain, edema. Besides, it may cause long-term morbidities such as urinary incontinence, fecal incontinence, dyspareunia, a decrease in quality of life, a need for surgery, and psychosocial problems. Moreover, it is associated with an increase in national healthcare costs and malpractice cases. For these reasons, some measures to reduce the frequency of perineal trauma have been discussed for many years. Pushing techniques applied in the second stage of labor and manual perineum protection techniques applied during fetal expulsion are among these. Current data are insufficient to make definitive recommendations. In this study, it was aimed to compare different pushing and perineal protection techniques in the second stage of labor.

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