Evidence-based medicine is a relatively new concept. The majority of obstetricians in clinical practice today trained in an era when expert consensus and personal opinion guided clinical decisions. An appraisal of the scientific evidence pertaining to episiotomy, operative vaginal delivery, caesarean section technique and management of the third stage of labour is presented. An audit of caesarean section technique at the Singapore General Hospital is also discussed. The obstetrician of today can no longer solely rely on personal experience or opinion in making clinical decisions. Nevertheless, there is scope for individualisation of care and variation in clinical management. The rational use of scientific evidence is the ability to distinguish between interventions for which recommendations must always be adhered to and those for which alternative approaches are acceptable.