A new method for teaching the repair of perineal trauma of birth.

BACKGROUND AND

OBJECTIVES

Repair of perineal birth trauma is one of the most common surgical techniques in pregnancy care. Because of the three-dimensional nature of the required repair, students and residents often have difficulty learning this procedure.

METHODS

We developed a new method to teach learners the repair of second-degree perineal birth trauma by using a simple three-dimensional model. We evaluated resident learning by testing their performance 8 months after training with the model.

RESULTS

Surveyed residents who participated in the training reported having used the learned skills and having an improved understanding of the three-dimensional aspect of the repair. Eight months after the initial teaching session, learners were able to consistently perform the simulation and rated it to be superior to learning from textbooks.

CONCLUSION

Repair of postdelivery perineal tears can be taught with a simple teaching model.