ABSTRACT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Perineal pain in the puerperium of women with perineal traumas can affect the quality of life and interfere with normal activities and physiological needs. In addition, many obstetric practitioners neglect this symptom and an incipient scientific production about the characterization of this pain is observed. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the characteristics of perineal pain in women with perineal traumas due to episiotomy and laceration, according to the Brazilian Version of the McGill Pain Questionnaire, in a public maternity hospital in the interior of Bahia. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out with 499 postpartum women who had a vaginal delivery and who presented with perineal pain associated with local traumas. RESULTS: The characterization of perineal pain was the same for both traumas, being described as “that jerk”, “boring” and “uncomfortable”. CONCLUSION: Perineal pain has considerable intensity and causes discomfort in women. Therefore, it is important that the episiotomy is performed in a restricted way and that the professionals seek to use techniques of perineal protection, as this will reduce the frequency of perineal pain and provide greater comfort to the woman in the immediate puerperium.