EPISIOTOMY – TRENDS AND PREVALENCE IN HEALTH CENTER VRANJE FOR THE PERIOD 1996 – 2021. YEAR

With this paper, we wanted to determine the prevalence of episiotomy in the completion of childbirth in the Gynecology and Obstetrics Department of the General Hospital in Vranje in the twenty-five-year period (1996-2021), and this is the period since it is recommended to abandon routine episiotomy. We also wanted to compare the obtained results with the results of similar studies by other authors and thus determine whether the general trend of reduced use of this obstetric operation due to the numerous complications that its use causes, exists in our country. Retrospective analysis includes data obtained from birth protocols with special reference to patients born vaginally and their parity. Childbirth completed using a vacuum extractor and caesarean section were analyzed separately. Such births for the first and last year of the examined period were presented and analyzed (1996, 2021). Aggregate data for both years were also analyzed. The obtained results are expressed numerically and presented using tables. Based on the data, it was concluded that the total number of births decreased, that the number of cesarean sections increased, that episiotomy in vaginal delivery was the most common among primiparous women and that episiotomy was significantly higher in our sample than in other studies.