Women’s experience of episiotomy: a qualitative study from China

Objective: To describe women’s experience of episiotomy in urban China. Design: This is a semistructured, indepth interview with women after episiotomy. We analysed transcriptions using thematic analysis in Chinese. Emerging themes were debated in English to finalise interpretation. Setting: Two community health centres and four hospitals in Shanghai, China. Participants: Purposive sampling of 30 postpartum women who had experienced episiotomy; 25 were primiparous and 4 had deliveries by forceps. We interviewed health providers to complement the data. Results: We identified four main themes: (1) women’s views of the procedure vary considerably; (2) pain interferes with daily life for weeks; (3) long-term anxiety is a consequence for some, described as a ‘psychological shadow’; and (4) societal norms assume women will not complain. Conclusion: Women receive little information in advance about episiotomy, yet the procedure has a wide range of physical and psychological consequences. This includes long-term anxiety about the damage done to them as women.