The Effect of an Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Video Education Program on Episiotomy Wound Healing, Pain, and Dyspareunia: A Randomized Controlled Trial"
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Not yet recruiting
- Sponsor
- Enrollment
- 70
- Primary Endpoint
- (REEDA Scale)
Study Overview
Brief Summary
Although the postpartum period is generally considered a positive experience, obstetric interventions such as episiotomy may lead to significant maternal health problems. Episiotomy, a surgical incision performed on the perineum during the second stage of labor, remains widely used despite World Health Organization recommendations to limit its rate. Episiotomy-related complications, including pain, infection, bleeding, and dyspareunia, can negatively affect wound healing, quality of life, and postpartum sexual health. Proper episiotomy wound care and education are therefore essential components of postpartum care. This study aims to evaluate the effect of an artificial intelligence-supported video education on episiotomy wound healing and postpartum sexual quality of life. The findings are expected to contribute to improved postpartum care practices and guide future research in this field.
Detailed Description
Although the postpartum period is generally considered a positive experience for mothers, obstetric interventions such as episiotomy may lead to various health problems. Episiotomy, defined as a strategic surgical incision made in the perineum during the second stage of labor, remains a fundamental obstetric intervention (WHO, 2018). Despite the World Health Organization's recommendation to reduce episiotomy rates in normal vaginal births to 10%, this procedure is still performed in approximately 30-50% of women (WHO, 2018), and post-episiotomy perineal discomfort has been reported in 42% of women (Roma et al., 2023).
Episiotomy may result in bleeding, infection, and postpartum pain associated with an increased risk of dyspareunia, thereby negatively affecting women's quality of life and sexual health (Hartinah et al., 2021). Minimizing these adverse outcomes requires preventing chronic pain, supporting mothers in effective pain management, preventing constipation, monitoring urinary retention, and reducing the risk of infection (Hartinah et al., 2021).
Evidence indicates that keeping the episiotomy wound dry, compared with sitz baths, reduces postpartum pain, accelerates wound healing, and positively influences postpartum sexual function (Alirezaei et al., 2024; Roma et al., 2023; Brezeanu et al., 2025; Aydemir et al., 2024). Therefore, education on episiotomy wound care constitutes a critical component of postpartum care.
The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of an artificial intelligence-supported video education on episiotomy wound healing and postpartum sexual quality of life. Additionally, the study seeks to determine the impact of AI-supported video education on episiotomy wound healing, pain, and dyspareunia among postpartum women and to provide a foundation for future research in this field.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel
- Primary Purpose
- Supportive Care
- Masking
- None
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 18 Years to 35 Years (Adult)
- Sex
- Female
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- •18 years of age and older,
- •No high-risk pregnancy (no systemic disease, no smoking, no postpartum complications),
- •Gestational age 37-42 weeks,
- •Single vaginal delivery of live birth,
- •Mediolateral episiotomy,
- •Not taking any medication,
- •No other lacerations besides episiotomy (anal sphincter injury, 3rd degree perineal laceration).
- •Single vaginal delivery of live birth or single vaginal delivery without episiotomy, age between 18-35 years, sexually active and healthy
- •Primiparous pregnant women
Exclusion Criteria
- •• Mothers who have had multiple, stillbirth, or anomalous births,
- •Mothers who refuse home visits will be excluded.
Arms & Interventions
INTERVENTION 1
Women allocated to the intervention group will receive an AI-assisted video-based educational intervention on episiotomy care in addition to routine postpartum care.
Intervention: AI-Assisted Episiotomy Care Video Group (Behavioral)
Control
Routine postpartum care
Intervention: Control (Other)
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
(REEDA Scale)
Time Frame: Postpartum Day 1, Day 3, Day 5, Day 7, and Day 14
Episiotomy wound healing will be evaluated using the REEDA Scale, which assesses five components: redness, edema, ecchymosis, discharge, and approximation of wound edges.
Episiotomy wound healing score (REEDA Scale)
Time Frame: Postpartum day 1, day 3, day 5, day 7, and day 14
Episiotomy wound healing will be assessed using the REEDA Scale, which evaluates five components: redness, edema, ecchymosis, discharge, and approximation of wound edges
Perineal pain intensity (Visual Analog Scale - VAS)
Time Frame: Postpartum day 1, day 3, day 5, day 7, and day 14
Perineal pain intensity will be measured using the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), a 10-cm horizontal line ranging from 0 (no pain) to 10 (worst imaginable pain). Participants will indicate their perceived pain intensity on the scale.
Secondary Outcomes
- Postpartum sexual function and dyspareunia score (Carol Postpartum Sexual Function and Dyspareunia Scale)(Postpartum 3 months after resumption of vaginal intercourse)
Investigators
Mine Gokduman Keles
assistant Prof dr
Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University