The Effect of an Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Video Education Program on Episiotomy Wound Healing, Pain, and Dyspareunia: A Randomized Controlled Trial"

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.