Maternal birth injuries

A substantial risk to the mother always existed at parturition. In the not-too-distant past, parturition was a very dangerous event in a woman’s life, and many babies lost their mothers at birth. With the improvement of obstetric services, availability of blood transfusions, antibiotics, modern anesthetic methods, and the increasing popularity of hospital deliveries, maternal death has almost disappeared. There is a tendency today to abandon potentially traumatic vaginal deliveries and use cesarean sections whenever difficulties are expected, for the sake of both mother and fetus. However, maternal morbidity and injury during labor unfortunately still exist, especially in underdeveloped parts of the world where medical surveillance of deliveries is less effective than in the more developed countries. Iatrogenic or elective injury, such as episiotomy, may be still needed, sometimes in order to avoid more extensive birth trauma.