ArticleBMJ open2020
Women's experience of episiotomy: a qualitative study from China.
Article in BMJ open, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 50 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Prevalence of episiotomy practice and factors associated with it in Ethiopia, systematic review and meta-analysis.Women's health (London, England)Pooled it
- The Effect of Malva Sylvestris Cream on Episiotomy Pain and Healing: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial.International journal of community based nursing and midwifery · 2022Trial
- Disrespect, Abuse, and Satisfaction With Facility-Based Childbirth in Rural Bangladesh.Health science reports · 2026Article
- The Effectiveness of a Prenatal Educational Programme on Fear of Childbirth Among Primigravida Women:Sultan Qaboos University medical journal · 2026Article
- Observational
- The effect of peer-assisted episiotomy repair simulation on anxiety and self-efficacy levels in midwifery students.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- An Evaluation of Polish Women's Knowledge of Perineal Incision: A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
- Assessing the quality of life of postpartum mothers with episiotomy in the first six post-partum weeks: a descriptive cross-sectional study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Episiotomies and obstetric anal sphincter injuries following a restrictive episiotomy policy in France: An analysis of the 2010, 2016, and 2021 National Perinatal Surveys.PLoS medicine · 2025Article
- Health-promoting lifestyle in mothers with vaginal childbirth and cesarean section in the postpartum period.BMC women's health · 2024Article
- Psychometric properties of a Saudi Arabian version of the Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BSS-R).Belitung nursing journal · 2024Article
- Could a simple manual technique performed by a midwife reduce the incidence of episiotomy and perineal lacerations? A non-randomized pilot study.European journal of midwifery · 2024Article
- Article
- The Effect of Virtual Reality Glasses Applied During the Episiotomy On Pain and Satisfaction: A Single Blind Randomized Controlled Study.Journal of pain research · 2023Article
- Mistreatment of Women during Childbirth and Associated Factors in Northern West Bank, Palestine.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Effect of Flexible Sacrum Position on Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes in Public Health Facilities, Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia: A Quasi-Experimental Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Choice in episiotomy - fact or fantasy: a qualitative study of women's experiences of the consent process.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2022Article
- Women's experiences of the OASI Care Bundle; a package of care to reduce severe perineal trauma.International urogynecology journal · 2021Article
- The perception and knowledge about episiotomy: A cross-sectional survey involving healthcare workers in a low- and middle-income country.African journal of primary health care & family medicine · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo describe women's experience of episiotomy in urban China.
designThis is a semistructured, indepth interview with women after episiotomy. We analysed transcriptions using thematic analysis in Chinese. Emerging themes were debated in English to finalise interpretation.
settingTwo community health centres and four hospitals in Shanghai, China.
participantsPurposive sampling of 30 postpartum women who had experienced episiotomy; 25 were primiparous and 4 had deliveries by forceps. We interviewed health providers to complement the data.
resultsWe identified four main themes: (1) women's views of the procedure vary considerably; (2) pain interferes with daily life for weeks; (3) long-term anxiety is a consequence for some, described as a 'psychological shadow'; and (4) societal norms assume women will not complain.
conclusionWomen receive little information in advance about episiotomy, yet the procedure has a wide range of physical and psychological consequences. This includes long-term anxiety about the damage done to them as women.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.