Manual perineal protection: The know-how and the know-why

Manual perineal protection is an obstetric intervention to mitigate the risk of perineal trauma. There are two effective techniques (Finnish and Viennese) with minor but distinctive differences in between them. The main aim of this study was to explore clinicians' knowledge about the manual perineal protection technique they use. The study took place in three maternity units that support manual perineal protection policy in three European countries (Czech Republic, Slovenia and the UK). Our study demonstrated that the majority of participants are aware of the concept of manual perineal protection. However, there were significant differences between staff responses regarding their views and experience with manual perineal protection in general. Less than 6% of respondents were able to provide an accurate account of the actual maneuvers they perform when manually protecting the perineum. Although this is not necessarily synonymous with suboptimal performance, it highlights the potential need to give more attention to the theory that underpins the technical skill in manual perineal protection training programs.