Episiotomy is a word that may strike fear in your heart.

• Some feel that it is an evil, outdated practice.
• Others feel it is necessary for all moms.
• I feel that it is neither.

I think that to do it routinely to all moms is stupid.

But there are some OBs out there who do it routinely for EVERY mom, even if she is stretching nicely.  There is even a story of an OB who missed the birth and was so used to cutting episiotomies for eveyrone he cut one for the placenta!!!

There are some instances when an episiotomy is beneficial.  One example is if the baby is showing signs of distress during pushing, it can help speed things up by a few minutes.

Like all things in birth, there is no one size fits all

• It should depend on the mom and baby.
• Also as with all intervetions, mom should be informed of what is going on and be given a say in what happens.
• Talking with your care provider about when they like to do an episiotomy AT YOUR NEXT APPOINTMENT is your best bet.  If they feel all moms need one, you can bet you will end up with one,whether you need it or not!