Représentation du périnée par le dessin en post-partum

Abstract

Introduction: The perineum, often surrounded by taboos, undergoes significant transformations during pregnancy and childbirth. Understanding how postpartum patients perceive their perineum is essential to providing care that combines physical health, psychological well-being, and body reclamation.
Objective: To explore how primiparous perceive their perineum through drawing, both before and after observing it in a mirror.
Material and method: We conducted a qualitative, experimental, single-center study involving 11 postpartum patients. Each patient was asked to draw their perineum before and after seeing it in a mirror. The validated QSCPGS questionnaire (Body Satisfaction and Global Self-Perception Questionnaire) was used to compare the scores obtained.
Results: 8 out of 11 patients reported feeling relieved after seeing their perineum, as reflected in their use of positive adjectives or comparisons between their two drawings. Two patients described their perineum using adjectives influenced by a healthcare provider’s clinical assessment. Four adjectives used after observation referenced swelling. All drawings showed noticeable differences before and after mirror observation of the perineum.
Discussion: The way healthcare providers describe the perineum during clinical examination appears to influence patients’ body perception, especially when discussing perineal tears. Most women were willing to look at their perineum. In this study, observing their perineum in a mirror seemed to enhance primiparous perception of their bodies. Additionally, using a mirror in postpartum care offers further benefits, such as improving patients’ knowledge of their genital anatomy, increasing overall body satisfaction after childbirth, and potentially reducing postpartum perineal pain.