PUERPERAL WOMEN’S PERCEPTIONS ABOUT EPISIOTOMY

The objective of the present study was to know how parturient women were informed and guided regarding the undertaking of episiotomy during childbirth. A qualitative and descriptive study was conducted with eight puerperal women hospitalized in a rooming-in of a public maternity hospital in the state of Paraná. Data were collected in February 2015, by means of semi-structured interviews. The following topics emerged from the data analyzed based on thematic analysis: Episiotomy: the known unknown; “Cutting” the right of choice; Being unaware of the episiotomy’s consequences. Women were not informed and guided regarding the episiotomy’s procedure, which leads to a misunderstanding about this practice and the limitation of women’s right of choice. This shows the need for increasing knowledge and rescuing women’s autonomy during the childbirth and birth process.