Episiotomy and Obstetric Anal Sphincter Injury Among Unassisted Vaginal Births: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Key Points

• To investigate the relationship between episiotomy and obstetric anal sphincter injury in unassisted vaginal births.
• Retrospective cohort analysis of childbirth records
• Examined outcomes of episiotomy usage in first and subsequent vaginal births
• Findings do not support the use of MLE for first births
• Suggest harm associated with MLE for subsequent births