(2) Perform postoperative care. Care is the same as for any abdominal
surgery. Allow the mother to breast feed as soon as she wishes.
(3) Care for the newborn. Have a pediatrician present. A warm crib and
resuscitation equipment should be available. Respiratory distress tends to be higher in
infants delivered this way. Infants born early do not have a change to adjust to
atmospheric pressure changes. Mucous is not expressed from the lungs since the
infant did not descent through the birth canal.
5-10. FACTS ABOUT EPISIOTOMIES
a. Definition. Episiotomy is an incision into the perineum made to facilitate
delivery.
b. Types of Episiotomies
See figure 5-2 for illustrations of the types of episiotomies.
(1) Median or midline episiotomy. An incision is made in the midline of the
perineum. The advantages of a median or midline episiotomy are that they are easy to
repair, faulty healing is rare, there is less pain during the postpartal period, there is less
blood loss, and the anatomic end results almost always excellent.
Figure 5-2. Types of episiotomies.
(2) Mediolateral episiotomy. An incision is made in the midline but directed
to the right or left. The advantages of a mediolateral episiotomy are that there is less
tearing beyond the incision and the incision can be directed away from the rectum. The
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