Episiotomy practice in the Middle East: A Lebanese teaching tertiary care center experience.

PROBLEM: There is lack of data on the rate of episiotomy in Lebanon and the study's hospital.

BACKGROUND: Only a few studies have addressed episiotomy practice in Lebanon and the Middle East and they show varying rates.

AIM: To identify the rate, and change in rate, of episiotomy practice over the years at a teaching hospital in Lebanon and to assess whether maternal age, parity, fetal weight, woman's hospital admission class, and physician's gender were associated with episiotomy. We also tested the association between episiotomy and postpartum hemorrhage and/or high degree perineal tears.

METHODS: A retrospective observational study was conducted on 1756 records for women having a normal vaginal birth at a single center from January 2009 to January 2014.

FINDINGS: The rate of episiotomy at the hospital was very high, with 97.4% of women receiving an episiotomy in 2009. A major decrease in the rate was identified with a decline from 97.4% in 2009 to 73.3% in January 2014. Episiotomy was found to be associated with parity, maternal age, and with high degree perineal tears.

DISCUSSION: The episiotomy rate at this center remains higher than the 10% rate recommended by the World Health Organization, although there has been a significant reduction after a call for restrictive rather than liberal use.

CONCLUSION: Raising awareness among providers appeared to play a significant role in reducing this rate, although more efforts remain warranted. Other strategies - such as raising awareness of women about potential risks of episiotomy - are also worth exploring.