Introduction: The injuries of the perineum or the vagina occur in more than 85 % of vaginal births. Women with injured genital tract can often suffer long or short–term damage. To avoid rupturing of the perineum, we can rely on different methods and techniques.
The midwife's role is to enable the natural course of vaginal labor, and being able to forsee possible complications, while also figuring out the solutions to prevent them. During the womens pregnancy, the midwife can provide her with information of self–help methods for protection of the perineum–one of which may also include the perineal massage. Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to pose a presentation on what perineal massage is and also to discover if women implementate the perineal massage. Methods: In this thesis, the descriptive method of research was used in the first part, where the theoretical framework of the thesis was presented. The search of literature was conducted with the help of online resources and databases Cobiss, Cinahl, Medline, PubMed, and Cochrane Library. The descriptive causal non–experimental method of empirical research, was used in the second part of the thesis. The research approach was based upon quantitative research. The main instrument used in the exploration was a survery that contained 23 questions. Results: The results have shown that in the duration of pregnancy, only 24,9 % of women implemented the perineal massage. Those who participated in the massaging of ones’ perineum most often replied that it had ended without causing any damage in as much as 36,9 %, while in the 31,5 % , episiotomy was executed. In 16,5 %, the childbirth resulted a minor or major tear of the perineum. 84,9 % of surveyed women stated that they used variuos aids of accessories to massage their perineum. As the most common accessory, 51,7 % of women stated to use Weleda massage oil during the implementation of the massage. As many as 79,5 % of the respondents stated that they would carry out the massage in their next pregnancies. Discussion and conclusion: In conclusion, the results have shown that there is only a small number of women who performs the perineal massage during their pregnancies. Therefore, it would be important to discuss the perineal massage as one of the tecnhniques of preparing the perineum itself for childbirth in the near future. Parenting classes can have a great deal of influence on this matter, where future parents would be able to be acquainted in their early prenatal period about what the perineal massage really is, also when and how to properly perform it.
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