The first use of an episiotomy to facilitate the delivery of an infant is lost in the past. Whether ancient midwives or birth attendants used primitive knives has been questioned for years. Perhaps they did or perhaps they did not. What is known, however, is that intentional incision of the perineum was not practiced as a routine procedure until the 20th century.
Treatises o n management o f the perineum as the fetal head emerges at the...
