Research Article Magnitude of Episiotomy and Associated Factors among Mothers Who Give Birth in Arba Minch General Hospital, Southern Ethiopia: Observation-Based Cross-Sectional Study Kassahun Fikadu, 1 Negussie Boti , 2 Birtukan Tadesse, 1 Dureti Mesele, 1 Emenet Aschenaki, 1 Etenesh Toka, 1 Fistum Arega, 1 Tsehaynesh Girma, 1 and Abebech Paulos 1 1 Midwifery Department, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia 2 School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Arba Minch University, Arba Minch, Ethiopia Correspondence should be addressed to Negussie Boti; kahlidboti@gmail.com Received 12 January 2020; Revised 20 July 2020; Accepted 24 July 2020; Published 1 September 2020 Academic Editor: Marco Scioscia Copyright © 2020 Kassahun Fikadu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Background. Episiotomy is the most common obstetric procedure, performed when the clinical circumstances place the patient at a high risk of high-degree laceration. However, episiotomy should be done with judicious indication to lower perineal laceration with fewer complications. Despite its adverse effects, the magnitude of episiotomy is increasing due to different factors. Therefore, this study is aimed at determining the recent magnitude of episiotomy and at identifying associated factors among women who gave delivery in Arba Minch General Hospital, Southern Ethiopia. Methods. An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from December 15, 2018, to January 30, 2019. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select study participants. A semistructured questionnaire was used to collect data. This was supplemented with a review of the labor and delivery records. Binary and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with the magnitude of episiotomy. P value ≤ 0.05 was used to determine the level of statistically significant variables. Results. The magnitude of episiotomy was found to be 272 (68.0%) with 95%CI = 64:0‐72:5. Women who attended secondary education [AOR = 10:24, 95%CI = 2:81‐37:34], women who attended college and above [AOR = 4:61, 95%CI = 1:27‐16:71], birth weight ≥ 3000 g [AOR = 4:84, 95%CI = 2:66‐8:82], primipara [AOR = 4:13, 95%CI = 2:40‐7:12], being housewife occupants [AOR = 3:43, 95%CI = 1:20‐9:98], married women [AOR = 2:86, 95%CI = 1:40‐5:84], and body mass index < 25 kg/m 2 [AOR = 2:85, 95%CI = 1:50‐5:44] were independent variables found to have significant association with episiotomy. Conclusion. The magnitude of episiotomy was 68.0% which is higher than the recommended practice by WHO (10%). The study participants’ occupational status, marital status, educational status, parity, birth weight, and BMI were significantly associated with the magnitude of episiotomy in the study area. Therefore, to reduce the rate of episiotomy, it is better to have periodic training for birth attendants regarding the indication of episiotomy. 1. Background An episiotomy is one of the widely used obstetric interven- tions which is done by the birth attendant to minimize the risk of severe tears which occur due to enlarging of the birth canal during childbirth at a time when the fetus’s head descends [1, 2]. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecolo- gists (ACOG) and Federation of International Gynecology and Obstetricians recommend that episiotomy should be done with judicious indication to lower perineal laceration with fewer complications [3, 4]. Existing evidence also sup- ported the recommendation to restrict episiotomy use [5]. The finding from studies conducted in a different part of the world shows that episiotomy increases the risk of third- and fourth-degree perineal lacerations which had short- and long-term complications for mothers [6–8]. A study con- ducted in Taiwan indicated that episiotomy increased the Hindawi Journal of Pregnancy Volume 2020, Article ID 8395142, 9 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/8395142