Health Library
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Episiotomy
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Local anesthesia for childbirth is most commonly given as a shot that numbs the area around the vagina just before an episiotomy is done. An episiotomy is a cut made in the tissue between the vagina and anus just before the baby's head starts to emerge. (The tissue is called the perineum.) The cut makes the vaginal...
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An episiotomy (say "eh-pih-zee-AH-tuh-mee") is a cut the doctor or midwife makes in the perineum (say "pair-uh-NEE-um"), which is the area between the vagina and anus. It is done to help deliver the baby or to help prevent the muscles and skin from tearing. The cut is made just before the baby's head comes out of...