Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2022 Jul 14:2022:3315638.
doi: 10.1155/2022/3315638. eCollection 2022.

Effect of Prenatal Perineal Massage on Postpartum Perineal Injury and Postpartum Complications: A Meta-Analysis

Qiuxia Chen  1 , Xiaocui Qiu  2 , Aizhen Fu  3 , Yanmei Han  2
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Effect of Prenatal Perineal Massage on Postpartum Perineal Injury and Postpartum Complications: A Meta-Analysis

Qiuxia Chen et al. Comput Math Methods Med. .

Abstract

Background: The efficacy of perineal massage is controversial. The study was aimed at comparing the effects of perineal massage on perineal injury and complications.

Methods: PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, and ISI Web of Science were searched for literature on the relationship between prenatal perineal massage and postpartum perineal injury and complications until April 2022. Indicators included postpartum perineal tears, perineotomy, postpartum perineal pain, natural labour, and postpartum incontinence. Finally, RevMan5.4 software was used to analyze the extracted data.

Results: A total of 6487 subjects in 16 studies were included, with 3211 who received perineal massage and 3276 did not. There was no significant difference in 1-2 degree perineal tearing between the intervention group and the control group (RR = 0.96, 95% CI [0.90, 1.03], P = 0.30), and there was no heterogeneity between studies (P = 0.62, I 2 = 0%), indicating publication bias. Compared with the control group, prenatal perineal massage significantly reduced the incidence of 3-4 degree perineal tears (RR = 0.56, 95% CI [0.47, 0.67], P < 0.00001), and there was no heterogeneity between studies (P = 0.16, I 2 = 30%), indicating publication bias. Compared with the control group, prenatal perineal massage reduced the risk of lateral perineal resection (RR = 0.87, 95% CI [0.80, 0.95], P = 0.001), and there was no heterogeneity between studies (P = 0.14, I 2 = 31%), and there was no publication bias. Compared with the control group, prenatal perineal massage reduced the risk of postpartum pain at 3 months (RR = 0.64, 95% CI [0.51, 0.81], P = 0.0002). There was no significant heterogeneity among studies (P = 0.23, I 2 = 31%).

Conclusion: Compared with no prenatal perineal massage, prenatal perineal massage can reduce the risk of perineal injury, the incidence of lateral perineal resection, and the incidence of long-term pain.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of literature screening.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest map: effect of prenatal perineal massage on perineal tear.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Funnel diagram: effect of prenatal perineal massage on perineal tear.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Forest map: effect of prenatal perineal massage on 1-2 degree perineal tear.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Funnel diagram: effect of prenatal perineal massage on 1-2 degree perineal tear.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Forest map: effect of prenatal perineal massage on 3-4 degree perineal tear.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Funnel diagram: effect of prenatal perineal massage on 3-4 degree perineal tear.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Forest map: effect of prenatal perineal massage on lateral episiotomy.
Figure 9
Figure 9
Funnel diagram: effect of prenatal perineal massage on lateral episiotomy.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Forest map: effect of prenatal perineal massage on natural delivery.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Funnel diagram: effect of prenatal perineal massage on natural delivery.
Figure 12
Figure 12
Forest map: effect of prenatal perineal massage on perineal pain 3 days after delivery.
Figure 13
Figure 13
Forest map: effect of prenatal perineal massage on perineal pain 3 months postpartum.
Figure 14
Figure 14
Forest map: effect of prenatal perineal massage on postpartum urinary incontinence.
Figure 15
Figure 15
Forest map: effect of prenatal perineal massage on postpartum fecal incontinence.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Johanson R. Perineal massage for prevention of perineal trauma in childbirth. Lancet . 2000;355(9200):250–251. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(00)00020-9. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Beckmann Michael M., Stock Owen M. Antenatal perineal massage for reducing perineal trauma. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews . 2013;30(article CD005123) doi: 10.1002/14651858.cd005123.pub3. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Abd Elfttah Ali H. Effects of prenatal perineal massage and Kegel exercise on the episiotomy rate. IOSR Journal of Nursing and Health Science . 2015;4:61–70.
    1. Dieb A. S., Shoab A. Y., Hala N., et al. Perineal massage and training reduce perineal trauma in pregnant women older than 35 years: a randomized controlled trial. International Urogynecology Journal . 2020;31(3):613–619. doi: 10.1007/s00192-019-03937-6. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Ibrahim E. F. Comparison of the effects of prenatal perineal massage versus Kegel exercise on labor outcome. IOSR Journal of Nursing and Health Science . 2018;7:43–53.

Publication types