Experts involved in a major multinational study have warned that episiotomy, a common childbirth procedure traditionally used to prevent severe tearing during delivery, may inadvertently increase the risk of life-threatening bleeding in women with anaemia.
The research, based on data from more than 15,000 women across Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania and Zambia, found that women with moderate or severe anaemia who underwent an episiotomy were almost twice as likely to experience postpartum haemorrhage compared with those who did not.
Postpartum haemorrhage, excessive bleeding after childbirth, remains one of the leading causes of maternal deaths worldwide and is particularly deadly in low-resource settings where anaemia is widespread.
The study, conducted by the WOMAN-2 Trial Collaborators, analysed deliveries between 2019 and 2023 and found that nearly three in every 10 women received an episiotomy.
An episiotomy is a surgical incision made in the area between the vagina and the anus during childbirth to
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