Relative frequency and predictors of episiotomy in Ogbomoso, Nigeria

Episiotomy is the commonest obstetric surgical operation performed to increase the diameter of the vulval outlet during the last part of the second stage of labour in order to facilitate vaginal delivery. The rate of episiotomy is on the decline in developed countries but still remains high in developing countries. The objectives of this study are to determine the rate and risk factors for episiotomies at the Baptist Medical Centre, Ogbomoso, Nigeria. This retrospective study extracted information on age, occupation, parity, type of vaginal delivery, birth weight of the newborn, and episiotomy status from the case notes of 280 patients and analysed it using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 13. The episiotomy rate was 34.3% in the present study. The rate of episiotomy decreased with parity, with the nulliparous having the highest rate (62.2%). The rate was higher among those who had assisted delivery (80.0%) than spontaneous vertex delivery. The episiotomy rate at this centre is high (34.3%) in comparison to the recommended 10% by the World Health Organization. Nulliparity and assisted vaginal delivery appear to be the risk factors for episiotomy in this centre.