Consent for an episiotomy
Studied, and found to be mostly compliance.
In interviews with 15 women who had an episiotomy, the researchers found that risks and alternatives were rarely discussed, that women described feeling they had no other option and no time to consider, and concluded that consent to episiotomy "is not consistently informed and voluntary and more often takes the form of compliance."
This is a small qualitative study and it does not give you a percentage. It is the best evidence available, and no population-representative study of whether women are warned about tearing appears to exist at all.
Settle it in advance"I do not want an episiotomy unless there is a specific reason, and I want to be told before it is done." Say it at a prenatal visit, put it on your birth preferences, and repeat it on admission.
Where this comes from:
219. Djanogly T, Nicholls J, Whitten M, Lanceley A. Choice in episiotomy: fact or fantasy: a qualitative study of women's experiences of the consent process. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2022;22(1):139.
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This page is educational. It supports the conversation with your own clinicians. It is not consent to any treatment, and it cannot assess you. If you are worried about a symptom now, see urgent warning signs.