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Perineal trauma and its consequences are important areas for women's health and wellbeing. Many women throughout the world will sustain some degree of perineal and vaginal injury during childbirth. Perineal trauma is associated with significant short and long-term health problems that have significant negative effects on women's wellbeing and quality of life. Therefore, it is essential that midwives who provide care and support to women during the childbirth continuum are educated and trained to provide the best care possible based on the most current up-to-date evidence. This article will give an overview of current evidence for perineal care during the childbirth continuum.

Background Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is a complex and deeply rooted sociocultural custom that is innately entrenched in the lives of those who continue its practice despite the physical and psychological dangers it perpetrates. FGM/C is considered a significant independent risk factor for adverse maternal and fetal outcomes in pregnancy and childbirth. Several studies in high-income countries have explored the experiences and needs of women with FGM/C as well as the knowledge of the health professionals, particularly midwives and nurses, who care for them. However, to date, no studies have evaluated the implementation of education for health professionals in high-income countries to meet the specific needs of women with FGM/C. Objective This study aims to explore the impact of an FGM/C education program for midwives and nurses as informed by the experiences of women with FGM/C accessing maternity, gynecological, and sexual health services in South Australia. Methods This study will adopt a three-phase, exploratory sequential mixed methods design. Phase 1 will involve the exploration of women with FGM/C views and experiences accessing maternity and gynecological (including sexual health) services in South Australia. The findings from phase 1 will inform phase 2: the development of an educational program for midwives and nurses on the health and cultural needs of women with FGM/C. Phase 3 will involve the evaluation of the program by measuring midwives’ and nurses’ changes in knowledge, attitude, and practice immediately before and after the education as well as 4 months after completing the program. Phase 1 of this study has been approved by the Women’s and Children’s Health Network human research ethics committee (ID number 2021/HRE00156) and the University of South Australia human research ethics committee (ID number 204096). Results Phase 1 will commence in August 2021, with the interpretation of findings being undertaken by November 2021. Phase 2 will be developed and facilitated by February 2022, and the final phase of this study will begin in March 2022. This study is expected to be completed by February 2023. Conclusions The findings of this research will provide insight into the development and evaluation of education programs for midwives and nurses that includes collaboration with women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds to address the specific cultural and health needs of communities. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) PRR1-10.2196/32911

INTRODUCTION Perineal trauma is a commonly observed complication of childbirth, affecting more than 75% of women who have a vaginal birth. Perineal trauma is associated with significant short-and long-term comorbidities that negatively impact women's quality of life. Severe perineal trauma (SPT) rates in Australia have almost doubled in the last decade. Reasons for increased rates are not completely understood; some researchers suggest improvements in diagnosis and reporting, while others have a view that it may be due to a lack of structured and standardized education in perineal wound assessment and repair for clinicians. METHODS The Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) scoping review methodology was adopted as a systemic process to identify studies that have investigated the effectiveness of perineal wound assessment and repair education and training for midwives and midwifery students. RESULTS Five studies met the inclusion criteria for this review, to have evaluated a type of education or training, on childbirth-related perineal wound assessment and repair that included midwives and midwifery students. A total of 1279 midwives and midwifery students volunteered to participate in all five studies. The length of the education or training implemented varied between each study from a 1-day workshop to 100 hours of education. All five studies measured the effectiveness of each program through changes in participants' confidence, knowledge and skills in perineal assessment and repair before and after an intervention using various self-assessment questionnaires. CONCLUSIONS The implementation of a structured educational workshop on perineal wound assessment and repair improves the confidence, skills and knowledge of midwives and students.