Midwives’ practices on perineal protection and episiotomy decision-making: A qualitative and descriptive study

INTRODUCTION Perineal trauma is associated with both short- and long-term morbidity which in turn relates to the degree of trauma. The objective of this study was to understand midwives’ practices regarding perineal protection during the second phase of labor, emphasizing decision-making to perform an episiotomy. METHODS A descriptive and explanatory study was conducted with an intentional sample of twenty-two midwives working in the labor ward of a tertiary hospital in a metropolitan location and in the public service, in Portugal. A semi-open interview was applied to collect the data from 5 to 15 January 2019. The computer software package, NVivo version 10, was used to perform the thematic analysis. RESULTS Four main themes arose from the midwives’ data: 1) Factors affecting the application of perineal protection techniques’, 2) Birth position, 3) Techniques for perineal protection, and 4) Episiotomy. The reasons for performing an episiotomy were the presence of tense perineum, large weight baby, previous obstetric anal sphincter injury, and Kristeller maneuver. CONCLUSIONS Midwives’ practices regarding perineal protection techniques and reasons for performing an episiotomy were not all in line with the evidence. Perineal massage was not mentioned as a perineal protection technique.