title: Midwives' Management during the Second Stage of Labor in Relation to Second-Degree Tears-An Experimental Study.
abstract: Most women who give birth for the first time experience some form of perineal trauma. Second-degree tears contribute to long-term consequences for women and are a risk factor for occult anal sphincter injuries. The objective of this study was to evaluate a multifaceted midwifery intervention designed to reduce second-degree tears among primiparous women.
  
  
  
  An experimental cohort study where a multifaceted intervention consisting of 1) spontaneous pushing, 2) all birth positions with flexibility in the sacro-iliac joints, and 3) a two-step head-to-body delivery was compared with standard care. Crude and Adjusted OR (95% CI) were calculated between the intervention and the standard care group, for the various explanatory variables.
  
  
  
  A total of 597 primiparous women participated in the study, 296 in the intervention group and 301 in the standard care group. The prevalence of second-degree tears was lower in the intervention group: [Adj. OR 0.53 (95% CI 0.33-0.84)]. A low prevalence of episiotomy was found in both groups (1.7 and 3.0%). The prevalence of epidural analgesia was 61.1 percent. Despite the high use of epidural analgesia, the midwives in the intervention group managed to use the intervention.
  
  
  
  It is possible to reduce second-degree tears among primiparous women with the use of a multifaceted midwifery intervention without increasing the prevalence of episiotomy. Furthermore, the intervention is possible to employ in larger maternity wards with midwives caring for women with both low- and high-risk pregnancies.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Care Sciences, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Malin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Edqvist
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Mid Sweden University, Sundsvall, Sweden.|Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ingegerd
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hildingsson
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Care Sciences, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Margareta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mollberg
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Care Sciences, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Ingela
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Lundgren
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Care Sciences, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.|Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lindgren
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001003:Anal Canal / Q000293:injuries; D015360:Analgesia, Epidural / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004841:Episiotomy / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008880:Midwifery / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D007744:Obstetric Labor Complications; D010298:Parity; D010502:Perineum / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery; D011247:Pregnancy; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors; D013548:Sweden; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: birth position; midwifery intervention; second-degree tears; spontaneous pushing; two-step delivery