Maternal birthing positions and perineal injury

Abstract

A study to evaluate the relationship between maternal birthing position and perineal outcome was undertaken on 335 patients in a rural family physician's practice whose babies were delivered vaginally between December 1980 and December 1988. The most common birthing position used by the women was the semi-sitting position in the birthing bed (44%, n = 146). Ninety-four women (28%) gave birth from the conventional lithotomy position, 80 (24%) used the birthing chair, and less than 5% used a side-lying position. Almost 30% of the women gave birth with intact perineum; the incidence of episiotomy was 44%. The use of a particular position for delivery varied with parity, and multiparous women used the semi-sitting position in the birthing bed more frequently than did primiparous women. There was no statistically significant relationship between birthing position and perineal outcome for primiparous women. A statistically significant relationship between delivery position and perineal outcome was found for multiparous women. Multiparous women using the birthing bed were more likely to have less perineal trauma than women giving birth on the delivery table.