Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40307775›Full record

ArticleBMC pregnancy and childbirth2025

Assessing the quality of life of postpartum mothers with episiotomy in the first six post-partum weeks: a descriptive cross-sectional study.

Athuraliyage Diluni Umesha Dharmasiri, Dewarahandhi Kavishka Madushan De Silva, Ahangama Vidanagei Pramuditha Madhavi

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Article in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

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1citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

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1 citing paper in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Athuraliyage Diluni Umesha DharmasiriDepartment of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, The Open University of Sri Lanka, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka.
Dewarahandhi Kavishka Madushan De SilvaDepartment of Clinical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, University of Colombo, Thalapathpitiya, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka.
Ahangama Vidanagei Pramuditha MadhaviDepartment of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, The Open University of Sri Lanka, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka. avpma@ou.ac.lk.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAn episiotomy is making a controlled incision to the perineal region to enlarge the vaginal opening to facilitate difficult childbirths. According to evidence-based guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO), it is not recommended that this procedure be performed routinely due to its detrimental effects on mothers' postpartum quality of life (QOL). Therefore, this study aims to examine the QOL of postpartum mothers who experienced episiotomy during normal vaginal (NVD) delivery in a Tertiary care hospital in Sri Lanka.

methodsA descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with postpartum mothers (n = 131) who had experienced an episiotomy during NVD in a Tertiary care hospital, in Sri Lanka. Data were collected from November 2023 to January 2024, using the Maternal Postpartum QOL Instrument (MPQOL-1), a previously validated questionnaire comprising five sub-scales. Participants were voluntarily recruited from postpartum mothers attending postnatal clinics in the above setting. The collected data were analyzed by using SPSS software version 26.

resultsThe study found that the majority of participants (71%) reported a high level of QOL related to episiotomy, while 28.2% had a moderate level. Factors such as parity, postpartum period, and number of episiotomies experienced significantly influenced QOL (p < 0.05). Women in the first postpartum week and those with fewer episiotomies reported higher QOL scores. Episiotomy complications are significantly associated with QOL, particularly regarding breastfeeding, newborn care, and bonding (p < 0.05).

conclusionsPostpartum mothers generally report a high QOL following episiotomy, with parity, postpartum period, and the number of episiotomies influencing outcomes. Early postpartum women and those with fewer episiotomies experience better QOL. Episiotomy complications, however, negatively impact key aspects of maternal well-being, including breastfeeding, newborn care, and bonding, highlighting the importance of minimizing complications.

Indexed as

EpisiotomyMothersPostpartum PeriodQuality of LifeAdultCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansPregnancySri LankaSurveys and QuestionnairesYoung AdultEpisiotomyPostpartum motherQuality of life

Identifiers

PMID40307775
PMCPMC12045005

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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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.