Correspondence: Episiotomy: a form of genital mutilation

In his ‘Sketches from The Lancet’ (April 24, p 1453) Peter Kandela describes how over 130 years ago The Lancet played a part in turning support away from one form of female genital mutilation in the UK—clitoridectomy. Hopefully, you can play a part in turning support away from another form of female genital mutilation which is widespread in the UK today—episiotomy.

After their review of scientific evidence, Thacker and Banta concluded that an episiotomy rate over 20% cannot be justified. On the basis of this and other evidence, WHO published the recommendation: “The systematic use of episiotomy is not justified. The protection of the perineum through alternative methods should be evaluated and adopted”. More recent research presents further evidence against frequent use of episiotomy…

This article can be accessed in this LINK