Episiotomy is familiar to any medical student who has studied obstetrics, as it is a common point in obstetric knowledge. Unlike a Cesarean Section, it is a procedure often seen during childbirth assistance in obstetrics. The purpose is to prevent the perineum from tearing due to the pressure of a large fetus during childbirth, which can cause damage to the pelvic floor muscles. Thus, it’s a proactive incision to expand the volume of the perineum.

Some mothers don’t understand this. They only hear the doctor wanting to make an incision on a healthy part of their body, which leads to confusion and the fear of scarring.

In reality, the wound from an episiotomy heals much better than the uneven tear from a natural perineal laceration, as the incision is neat and straight, leaving hardly any scar. Moreover, if the pelvic floor muscles are indeed damaged during labor, it could cause significant long-term effects on the mother’s health and life.

A doctor would never casually perform an incision on a patient. An unnecessary incision would be a huge hassle for the doctor, who is responsible for its healing. They would only perform the surgery when they assess it is necessary for the patient’s condition.

Typically, a midwife can perform an episiotomy, indicating that the procedure has a very low risk.

From the above, it is evident that the mother’s concern is mostly due to the doctor failing to adequately explain the procedure beforehand, causing complaints from the mother.

Mistrust in the doctor-patient relationship often manifests in these details.

Many doctors in domestic clinical practice do indeed lack adequate communication with patients, unwilling to invest the time. The reason is simple: doctors in the country handle too many patients daily and have no time for detailed medical education.

Additionally, there are many suspicious patients in clinical practice. If informed in advance but the procedure is eventually not performed, it may lead the mother to further doubt.

"It’s not that I’m unaware. I’m just testing you to see what situation requires an episiotomy for your senior sister," Lin Hao gritted his teeth, telling Li Qi’an not to boast carelessly.

Determining when a mother needs an episiotomy is a skill, not something anyone can memorize from a textbook. This probably requires some clinical experience to support. Li Qi’an has seen quite a few cases in obstetrics, thought for a moment, and said, "Could it be because the senior sister is a first-time mother?"

Meanwhile, Li Xiaobing heard the Boss suddenly say an incision was necessary for her, and she couldn’t help but feel the same tension as other mothers, questioning why an episiotomy was needed.

Seeing this, Doctor Tang skillfully helped her husband reassure the patient: "Xiaobing, don’t worry. An episiotomy is quite normal." Following this, without delving into excessive medical terminology, Doctor Tang directly illustrated with a personal example: "When I gave birth to my son, I also had an episiotomy. We’re first-time mothers after all."

For first-time mothers, the perineum is usually tighter and doesn’t open easily compared to mothers with previous childbirths, increasing the risk of perineal tearing as the baby emerges, requiring an episiotomy in most cases. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

So, was Li Qi’an’s suspicion correct? No, only about halfway. Lin Hao squinted his eyes; the silent expression of the attending specialists indicated something unusual. Li Qi’an sensed the subtle atmosphere and didn’t dare to flaunt his mediocre knowledge.

In Li Xiaobing’s case, doctors might need to consider additional special factors. For instance, if a mother has heart disease, shortening the second stage of labor is necessary, and an episiotomy can expedite the childbirth. Moreover, delivering a breech-presented baby counts as difficult labor, and an episiotomy is inevitable.