What is a lateral incision? A lateral incision is called an “episiotomy”. An episiotomy is an assisted delivery procedure in which the perineum is partially cut open with surgical scissors to widen the vaginal opening and speed up the delivery of the baby. There are two types of episiotomy: median, lateral oblique and lateral, and the term “lateral” means lateral oblique or lateral incision, which is usually performed on the left side. Do you have a fear of lateral incision? When it comes to lateral incision, many pregnant mothers should refuse to do it. They think that in order to have a normal delivery, they have waited, they have been in pain, they have experienced all the sadness and fear, and they are about to give birth to the baby by themselves, so why do they have to “receive a knife” again? The number of birth mothers this side cut to do reluctantly, and how many pregnant mothers listened to the words of the “seniors”, mentioned side cut on a hundred reluctance. This is the reason why the obstetrician and midwife will be more or less distressed, knowing that the mother is not willing to cut, but when there are indications of incision still have to cut. The actual fact is that you may need to make a gentle incision for your own good and for your baby’s good. If you have poor perineal tissue elasticity, a narrow vaginal opening, or abnormalities such as inflammation or edema in the perineum, we will consider making an episiotomy for you. If you do not undergo an episiotomy, there is a high risk of severe perineal lacerations during delivery of the fetal head. The lacerated wound is messy and irregular, which not only makes it more difficult for the doctor to suture, increases the time and pain of suturing, but also prolongs the healing time afterwards, and the scar left after healing will affect the overall aesthetics of the perineum. And serious laceration can also involve the vagina and anus, think about the crack to the vagina, crack to the anus, then the postpartum recovery troubles can be a lot. If the baby’s head is large, or if the fetal head is not in the right position, so that the fetal head is blocked at the perineum and cannot be delivered smoothly, an episiotomy must be done. When the baby lives in the womb, it is moistened in the amniotic fluid and enjoys the nutrition and oxygen sent by the umbilical cord, but when it is ripe to come out, it will push out with all its strength, consuming more nutrition and oxygen and losing the nourishment of amniotic fluid. The baby’s body condition is not good. 3. The physical condition of the delivery mother is not suitable for senior pregnant mothers over 35 years old, pregnant mothers with heart disease, pregnant mothers with high risk pregnancy with gestational hypertension and gestational diabetes, who need to undergo perineotomy. If you have any of the above conditions, your body may not be able to tolerate a short labor time of five or six hours, or a long one of more than ten hours. In order to speed up the progress of labor, you need to perform an episiotomy to prevent excessive physical exertion and prolong the labor process. The baby’s condition is not good. If the uterus is fully opened, the fetal head is low, but the fetal heart monitoring condition is not good, the fetal baby’s heart rate has abnormal changes, such as irregular rhythm, and the amniotic fluid is cloudy or mixed with meconium, it is necessary to make an episiotomy. The presence of these signs indicates that the baby is not surviving well in the uterus, and an episiotomy will help the birth attendant to assist the baby to be delivered as soon as possible and to perform the relevant examination and rescue measures in time. Do you understand the “good intention” of episiotomy? When indicated, perineal incision can reduce the risk of perineal laceration, assist in the delivery of the baby and speed up the progress of labor, while the birth is only a small cut in the vaginal opening, leaving only a neat scar after birth, which can be considered a wise move to lose the car and save the marshal. Some pregnant mothers may not want to have a lateral incision because they are afraid that it will be painful, but during the lateral incision, local anesthesia will be administered, and at that time, all your energy will be focused on giving birth and dealing with the pain of contractions, so the pain of the lateral incision will not attract too much attention. Some pregnant mothers may worry about hurting their baby during the lateral incision. You can rest assured that the midwife will wear sterile gloves and put her fingers into the vagina to separate the perineal tissue from the fetal head before making the perineal incision to avoid hurting the fetal head. Some pregnant mothers may also worry about whether the lateral incision will have an impact on their couple’s life. The suturing of the lateral incision and the healing of the wound means the growth of cells and the connection of tissues, which cannot be separated by normal external forces. Why should you worry about the perineal incision when you can trust that the rest of your body will not open up? As for the aesthetics of the perineum, pay more attention to diet and hygiene when recovering from childbirth, the scars will not be so obvious, and you have to put your mind at ease, the scars are a testimony of your dedication to your baby and your loved ones, a testimony of great motherhood. If necessary, I hope the brave mother will accept this gentle cut happily. For your own sake and for the sake of your baby, you must cut when you have to.