From today's daily email from the Wall Street Journal:
"The evidence is clear: Routine use of episiotomy is not supported by research and should stop," said Katherine E. Hartmann, director of the Center for Women's Health Research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who led a study that found the incisions many pregnant women receive to reduce the risk of tearing tissue during delivery actually increase the risk of tissue tears, leading to more pain, more stitches and a longer recovery after childbirth, the Washington Post reports.Posted by Tom Nugent at May 4, 2005 08:25 AM