Background: Episiotomy is essentially a surgical procedure but it is often relegated
to the least experienced member of the obstetric team with possible untoward
consequences to the mother. Aim: This study set out to appraise how episiotomy
was practiced in the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital during the period of the
study. Materials and Methods: It was a cross sectional exploratory study which
assessed episiotomy and episiorrhaphy procedures among parturients in the centre.
Results: Thirty two percent of the 275 parturients studied did not know what
episiotomy means. The majority (61.5%) of the parturients were not counseled on
the need for episiotomy before the procedure was performed on them. The mean
delivery-repair interval for episiotomy among parturients in the study population was
17.9 + 5.66 minutes. Most (75.6%) of the episiotomies were performed by midwives.
A significant proportion (45.8%) of the parturients had episiotomy performed on
them without prior administration of local anaesthesia. The majority (52.7%) of the
episiotomies were repaired by house officers. Common complications among
women in the study population were perineal discomfort, perineal pain and difficulty
in breastfeeding. Conclusion: The practice of episiotomy in the studied University
Teaching Hospital during the period of the study did not meet all necessary
requirements of a surgical procedure. Senior members of the obstetric team should
supervise the practice in order to ensure the maintenance of standard.