Postpartum Pain Literature Review

The purpose of this literature review is to evaluate the influence episiotomy’s have on postpartum pain.
In the first study by Leeman et al. (2009), the purpose was to evaluate the pain associated with genital trauma, labor care, and different incidences during birth from a group of healthy women who had few instances of episiotomies and delivered vaginally. The sample size consisted of 565 midwifery patients that were at least eighteen years of age. These women signed consent forms allowing their birth experiences to be documented as well as consented to have a postpartum pain assessment. After birth, they were evaluated using the present pain intensity (PPI) and visual analog scale (VAS) pain scale. This study is a type of quantitative research
(2008), the purpose was to observe postpartum pain based on the mothers reported experiences associated with method of delivery. The sample size included 1.373 women from a randomized internet panel as well as 200 black and Hispanic mothers from a phone survey, their ages ranged from 18 to 45 and they had a hospital assisted birth. There were open-ended and closed-ended questions included in the 30-minute survey. This study is considered qualitative research design because the mothers were interviewed thus the study is based around their answers. Before we discuss the specific findings of this study there are a few definitions that are important to understand; an assisted vaginal delivery involves an episiotomy and spontaneous vaginal deliveries mean there was no episiotomy. The women that were included in this study who experienced an assisted vaginal delivery reported an extended period of postpartum pain (at least 6 months). In first time moms who had an episiotomy 82% reported pain during the first 2 months post-delivery; however, only 67% of first time moms who did not have an episiotomy reported pain. As evidenced by the first study, this study continues to prove that episiotomies influence postpartum pain
One important aspect of research is funding. This study was done in Jordan where there is not much funding for anything, especially research. In the closing statements of the study it mentions that the results found at one hospital does not help in the overall world population. Although, this study had weaknesses it does have one very important finding; the results of this study support the impression that maternal healthcare needs to be changed associated with the results of perineal trauma with successive risk