a question for labor & delivery nurses

[amyrae76]

Hi!

I'm in my OB rotation, and I'm doing a paper on the use of perineal massage during the last trimester of pregnancy and if it helps women avoid episiotomies. My teacher is a midwife and she has not done any research on this subject and she's not sure what she thinks about it, so I want to ask some L&D nurses:

*Do you see OB doctors and nurses recommending perineal massage to women in prenatal visits?

*Do the majority of women who deliver at your hospital end up having an episiotomy?

*Of the women who didn't need an episiotomy -- was it due to prenatal perineal massage or did they just "get lucky"?

*Do you have an informed opinion on the risks vs. benefits of the use of perineal massage? If your patients use it, do they find it useful?

Thank you very much in advance to any RNs who respond!

Amy :)

[shay]

*Do you see OB doctors and nurses recommending perineal massage to women in prenatal visits? No. Only 2 CNMs at one practice recommend it, maybe to about 1/2 their patients.

*Do the majority of women who deliver at your hospital end up having an episiotomy? No.

*Of the women who didn't need an episiotomy -- was it due to prenatal perineal massage or did they just "get lucky"? Half luck, half technique of the practicioner and nurses.

*Do you have an informed opinion on the risks vs. benefits of the use of perineal massage? If your patients use it, do they find it useful?Yes, I know the risks and benefits, of the patients I've known who used it and did it properly, meaning starting around 34 weeks, yes, it helped greatly decrease tearing.

I practice in a hospital that caters to a patient population that is not very informed about childbirth or pregnancy. To give you an idea, we had a pat. come in at 26 weeks, all distressed, because she could see her stomach bumping and rolling, and wondered "what that was." Ya feel me? When I was at an institution that catered to a more educated, "crunchy" population, I saw it a lot more and it was used much more. I think if our docs told their patients to do that, they'd get some funny looks. These are women who are mostly uneducated and not very aware of their bodies, and with no real intention to learn more. When I ask them if they took cb classes, 1/2 of them respond by saying "no, but I watched 'A Baby Story' every day!!"

Feel my pain. :rotfl:

[amyrae76]

Ha ha! Thanks for your reply, shay! I can understand why it's not practiced much where you are. (And by the way, I like your signature quote "Part of the vast right-wing conspiracy"!)