The National Maternity and Perinatal Audit (NMPA)
The National Maternity and Perinatal Audit (NMPA) is led by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) in partnership with the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), the Royal
College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM).
Read the full report here:
>> NMPA Audit <<
Key Findings for MASIC:
▶️ OASI is estimated to affect 1 in 50 women in the UK.
▶️ Of all women and birthing people experiencing an instrumental birth by forceps, as many as 1 in 20 did so without an episiotomy; of these, 31% experienced a third- or fourth-degree tear.
▶️ Of the women and birthing people experiencing their first birth, 23% had an instrumental birth, 23% had an emergency caesarean birth and 44% of those who had a vaginal birth had an episiotomy.
▶️ Assisted vaginal birth for women and birthing people having their first birth in England was 22.7% and in Wales was 20.4%. In England, 22.6% of women and birthing people had their first birth by emergency caesarean, and in Wales this figure was 22.2%.
▶️ These two modes of birth are associated with higher levels of physical and psychological harm, as reported by women and birthing people. Appropriate counselling in the antenatal period about the relative likelihood of experiencing an assisted vaginal birth or emergency caesarean birth with their first birth should be provided.
We support the following recommendations in the report:
👍 Improve the availability and quality of information about possible interventions during labour and birth, by offering individualised evidence-based information in a language and format which is accessible and tailored to each woman or birthing person’s circumstances. Consider using the IDECIDE decision-making and consent tool (when available).
👍 All women and birthing people should be routinely counselled and offered an episiotomy prior to experiencing a forceps-assisted birth, to reduce the chance of an OASI.
