Episiotomy rates in private vs. resident service deliveries: a comparison.

Objective: To compare the use of episiotomy by private practitioners vs. resident staff and to determine if number of years in practice influences episiotomy use.

Study Design: A retrospective chart review of vaginal deliveries at 35 weeks or greater between January 2001 and June 2001. The number of years in practice by each private physician was documented. Independent sample t tests and chi2 tests were used to analyze data.

Results: In 995 deliveries, episiotomies were performed in 6% of low-risk resident deliveries vs. 26% of low-risk private deliveries (p<0.001). Physicians in practice > or = 15 years performed episiotomies in 32% of low-risk births. Physicians in practice <15 years performed episiotomies in 22% of low-risk births (p = 0.027).

Conclusion: Deliveries performed by private practitioners are associated with a higher rate of episiotomy than those by resident staff. The number of episiotomies appears to increase by number of years in practice.