Episiotomy cuts becoming less common during childbirths in Flanders

The proportion of Flemish women receiving an episiotomy cut during childbirth has fallen sharply over the last ten years, according to a report by the Flemish Study Centre for Perinatal Epidemiology. 27.6 per cent of Flemish women had an episiotomy during childbirth last year, compared to 50.4 per cent in 2014. In Brussels and Wallonia, the figures are even lower.

When giving birth vaginally, women regularly get an episiotomy, a “cut” in the perineum between vagina and anus. This is done to make childbirth go more smoothly and avoid spontaneous tearing, but unnecessary cutting does make recovery after childbirth harder.

Until a few years ago, doctors often routinely resorted to episiotomies, but that may have changed, noted the Study Centre for Perinatal Epidemiology in its annual report. “It is possible that increased awareness among healthcare providers and pregnant women around avoiding routine episiotomy is contributing to the falling figures,” indicated gynaecologist Monika Laubach, who collaborated on the report.

Much does however remain dependent on which hospital women go to: some hospitals have much higher episiotomy rates than others. Whether this has to do with the habits of individual doctors, or with general hospital policy, requires further investigation, Laubach said.

The proportion of episiotomies does remain significantly higher in Flanders than in the other parts of Belgium. In Wallonia, 16.1 per cent of women have an episiotomy during vaginal birth and in Brussels only 10.7 per cent.

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