Evidence Based Birth®

In this episode, we are continuing our series on protecting the perineum by talking about the evidence on whether prenatal perineal massage is effective at preventing perineal tears during childbirth. We’ll also discuss the importance of critically analyzing research, and what “predatory open access publishing” has to do with some of the research on perineal massage! Head's up... if you haven't listened to EBB Episode 206 yet, I recommend listening to that episode first, since it covers introductory information about perineal tears.  Content warning: Discussion of perineal tears during childbirth, severe tears, obstetric violence, and episiotomy. Resources: For a full list of scientific references, see the blog post that goes along with this episode Check out Episode 206 of the EBB Podcast to learn about Perineal Tears and Avoiding Episiotomy and Episode 210 to learn about warm compresses and hands-on vs. hands-off techniques Go to our YouTube channel to see video versions of all our podcasts! Visit https://