Balachandran AA, et al. - The goal of the study described in this paper was to explore the obstetric and neonatal outcomes of women with female genital mutilation (FGM) when compared with the general population. The current study showed that the FGM was not related to an increased incidence of adverse obstetric and foetal morbidity or mortality in their unit.

Methods

• For this research, they designed a retrospective case-control study.
• This was the study of consecutive pregnant women with FGM more than a 5-year period between 1 January 2009 and 31 December 2013.
• Each woman with FGM was matched for age, ethnicity, parity and gestation with subsequent patients without FGM (control cohort) over the same 5-year period.
• Results evaluated were the mode of delivery, duration of labour, estimated blood loss, analgaesia, perineal trauma and foetal outcomes.

Results

• In this study, they identified a total of 242 eligible women (121 FGM, 121 control).
• There was a significant increase in the utilization of episiotomy in the FGM group (p = 0.009) and a significant increase in minor PPH in the control group amid caesarean sections (p = 0.0001).
• No differences were seen in all other obstetric and neonatal parameters.