Extracts below, from the London School of HHygiene and Tropical Medicine.
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Common obstetric procedure linked with increased risk of severe bleeding in women with anaemia
https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/newsevents/news/2026/common-obstetric-procedure-...
Having an episiotomy, a surgical cut to the vagina during childbirth, doubles the risk of postpartum haemorrhage (PPH) in women with moderate or severe anaemia, according to new research published in The Lancet Global Health...
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(25)00449-8/fulltext
Data revealed many first-time mothers participating in the trial received an episiotomy – with 81% of women from Pakistan and 63% of women from Nigeria receiving one. First time mothers in Zambia and Tanzania had rates of 29% and 15% respectively...
There are various reasons the practice is still routine in some countries, such as the idea it will speed up labour, prevent adverse outcomes, a belief that first time mothers are at high risk of tearing and this will help prevent it, and lack of awareness of evidence and guidelines....
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HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org