Postpartum mothers’ experiences of episiotomy in a Sri Lankan tertiary care hospital: a qualitative study
- 1Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, The Open University of Sri Lanka, Nawala, Nugegoda Sri Lanka
Abstract
A comprehensive understanding of women’s childbirth experiences is essential for developing women-centered maternity services and enhancing the quality of care provided during labor and birth. The midwife support, duration of labour, pain, and use of invasive methods such as episiotomies, forceps, and emergency cesarean section are the various aspects that have been involved in the exploring of childbirth experiences. According to evidence-based guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO), it is not recommended to perform an episiotomy routinely to facilitate a baby’s delivery due to its potential negative outcomes particularly to the mother. This qualitative study was conducted to explore postpartum mothers’ experiences related to episiotomy using mothers (n = 15) who have experienced episiotomy during normal vaginal delivery. Data were collected through face-to-face in-depth interviews with voluntarily recruited postpartum mothers attending the postnatal clinics of a tertiary care hospital. The audio-recorded interviews were verbatim transcribed and coded manually and categorized into subthemes, and then themes to describe the experiences of postpartum mothers related to episiotomy performed during normal vaginal delivery. The four main themes that emerged were physical suffering, being psychologically embarrassed, it is a woman’s duty, and being satisfied with family support. The first two themes described how participants’ postpartum life was impacted physically and psychologically while they experienced difficulties due to episiotomy wounds. The next two themes explain how participants tried to cope with the episiotomy experience during their postpartum life while seeking satisfaction with partner support. During the analysis, recurring subthemes identified in the derivation of themes highlight key aspects, such as societal norms, pain management, and communication with mothers about the episiotomy procedure by health professionals. These factors play a crucial role in shaping a mother’s postpartum experience, either alleviating or exacerbating her recovery process.
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BibTeX
@article{dharmasiri2026postpartum,
title = {{Postpartum mothers’ experiences of episiotomy in a Sri Lankan tertiary care hospital: a qualitative study}},
author = {A. D. U. Dharmasiri and A. V. P. Madhavi},
journal = {BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1186/s12884-026-09707-9},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-026-09707-9},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Postpartum mothers’ experiences of episiotomy in a Sri Lankan tertiary care hospital: a qualitative study
AU - A. D. U. Dharmasiri
AU - A. V. P. Madhavi
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/30
JO - BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
DO - 10.1186/s12884-026-09707-9
UR - https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-026-09707-9
AB - A comprehensive understanding of women’s childbirth experiences is essential for developing women-centered maternity services and enhancing the quality of care provided during labor and birth. The midwife support, duration of labour, pain, and use of invasive methods such as episiotomies, forceps, and emergency cesarean section are the various aspects that have been involved in the exploring of childbirth experiences. According to evidence-based guidelines from the World Health Organization (WHO), it is not recommended to perform an episiotomy routinely to facilitate a baby’s delivery due to its potential negative outcomes particularly to the mother. This qualitative study was conducted to explore postpartum mothers’ experiences related to episiotomy using mothers (n = 15) who have experienced episiotomy during normal vaginal delivery. Data were collected through face-to-face in-depth interviews with voluntarily recruited postpartum mothers attending the postnatal clinics of a tertiary care hospital. The audio-recorded interviews were verbatim transcribed and coded manually and categorized into subthemes, and then themes to describe the experiences of postpartum mothers related to episiotomy performed during normal vaginal delivery. The four main themes that emerged were physical suffering, being psychologically embarrassed, it is a woman’s duty, and being satisfied with family support. The first two themes described how participants’ postpartum life was impacted physically and psychologically while they experienced difficulties due to episiotomy wounds. The next two themes explain how participants tried to cope with the episiotomy experience during their postpartum life while seeking satisfaction with partner support. During the analysis, recurring subthemes identified in the derivation of themes highlight key aspects, such as societal norms, pain management, and communication with mothers about the episiotomy procedure by health professionals. These factors play a crucial role in shaping a mother’s postpartum experience, either alleviating or exacerbating her recovery process.
SN - 1471-2393
ER -