Abstract:
Background: Spontaneous perineal tear is any degree of damage to the perineal tissue during
vaginal birth that occurs spontaneously. Of vaginal births more than 70% experience degrees of
perineal tear which is associated with an upsurge in the burden of urinary incontinence, pelvic
organ prolapses, anal incontinence, perineal pain, and dyspareunia, all of which may compromise
women’s quality of life. Identifying factors associated with perineal tear enable earlier
identification of women at risk and the use of preventive measures. However, the magnitude and
associated factors of spontaneous perineal tear have not been addressed well in Ethiopia, especially
in this study area.
Objective: To assess the magnitude of spontaneous perineal tears and associated factors among
women attending delivery service in Arba Minch General Hospital, Southern Ethiopia,2021.
Methods: Facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 398 women, who were selected
using systematic random sampling technique, from women attending delivery service in Arba
Minch General Hospital from March 15 to July 15, 2021. The data were collected using a
structured interviewer-administered questionnaire, data extraction and observation checklist.
Logistic regression analyses were done to identify factors associated with the spontaneous perineal
tear. The adjusted odds ratio with the corresponding 95% confidence interval and a p-value less
than 0.05 were noted to declare variables had a significant association.
Result: The magnitude of spontaneous perineal tear was 149(37.4%) with (95%CI = 32.7%
,42.2%.). Assisted vaginal delivery(AOR=4.27; 95%CI 1.21,15.01), duration of 2nd stage of labour
> 1hrs. (AOR=4.55; 95% CI: 2.23, 9.15), mediolateral episiotomy (AOR=4.63; 95%CI 1.60
,13.36), birth weight of >3500gms (AOR= 2.16; 95%CI 1.10, 4.26), applying fundal pressure
(AOR=7.65; 95% CI: 3.52, 16.65), having female genital cutting (AOR=5.23; 95%CI 2.47, 11.07)
and perineal support 2.23 (AOR=2.23; 95%CI 1.10, 4.54) were factors associated with
spontaneous perineal tear.
Conclusions and recommendations: The magnitude of spontaneous perineal tear in this study is
high. Assisted vaginal delivery, mediolateral episiotomy, birth weight, and duration of the second
stage of labour, female genital cutting, fundal pressure and no perineal support are factors
associated with the spontaneous perineal tear. It is prudent that if perineal tear preventive strateare optimized in this study settin
