What are the chances I will have another episiotomy?

If you have had an episiotomy before, what are the chances you will have another episiotomy?

What are the chances I will need another episiotomy?

Having a previous episiotomy doesn’t mean that you will definitely have one again. Episiotomies are assessed at the time of birth. The research does show that women who have had an episiotomy before are more likely to have a vaginal tear or an episiotomy when compared to those women who have not had a previous episiotomy. Saying that, the chances of having one are still low. Let’s look at the numbers.

What does the research say about what are the chances I will need another episiotomy if I had one before?

A study looked at births for those women who have had a previous episiotomy and this is what they found.

Those women who had a previous episiotomy, 17.5% of these women had another episiotomy.

Compared to 3.1% of women had an episiotomy when they did not have one in their previous birth.

Will I have a tear if I had a previous episiotomy?

Women who have had a previous episiotomy are more likely to have a vaginal tear compared to those women who did not have an episiotomy in their previous birth. When looking at vaginal tears involving skin (1st degree tear) and muscle (2nd degree tear) of the vagina , this is what the research found.

33% of the women who had an episiotomy in a previous birth, went on to have either a 1st or 2nd degree tear.

Compared to 17% of women who had not had a previous episiotomy.

These statistics, although seem high for those who had a previous episiotomy, are still a great deal lower than the chances of tearing as a first time Mum. With 90% of those having a first time vaginal birth having some degree of a vaginal tear.

Like reading positive birth stories from women who had a previous episiotomy? Read about Zoe’s birth with her 2nd baby. Zoe had a previous forcep’s and episiotomy and wanted to have birth with less intervention this time around. Read Zoe’s birth story.