Does the use of episiotomy protect against postpartum incontinence?
A 26-year-old woman presents for a routine prenatal visit. She is a primigravida, 34 weeks pregnant, and has been healthy throughout her pregnancy. She has never smoked and stopped social alcohol use before conception. The patient is currently taking prenatal vitamins. She has no known allergies. Her vital signs are within normal limits, and her physical examination findings are all normal. The patient is concerned about shortterm maternal complications associated with delivery, specifically urinary incontinence. In conversations with friends, she learned that some received episiotomies and some did not; all experienced variable impacts on their continence status. The patient is having trouble finding helpful patient education material and would like your guidance on whether an episiotomy would offer protection from urinary incontinence.
