Baby number 1 (7lb 12oz) Cut but tore anyway, had had an epi and didn't feel it anyway, that was 11 yrs ago so I can't remember the healing at all.  From memory I think I had around 20 stitches

Baby number 2 (8lb 3 oz) Cut and tore again, 30 stitches, very little pain in healing. Nearly 5 years ago.

Baby number 3 (6lb 2oz) No cut but tore again, another 30 stitches, This was only 24 weeks ago so still fresh enough to remember.  It feels like a burning stinging sensation, but its over pretty quickly, and for me it wasn't an OMG MAKE IT STOP!!!! sort of pain.

IF it does happen, make sure that you get the midwives to show you the correct position for going to the toilet, and sitting in a salt bath helps, as well as firm fitting underwear to help "hold" everything in place lol.

Good luck and Congratulations!!

BTW, all three of my kids have very large square heads - just like their mum! LOL the last one was only 6lb 2oz but had a head the size of a 9lb baby!

Don't be afraid!  I had a caesar followed by a natural birth with third degree tearing (& stitches) and I survived!  With the tearing, I did not feel it until afterwards, when I was uncomfortable sitting etc....  I knew it would happen because of the force with which I was pushing, but the experience is so intense and you are so focused on getting that baby out that you don't notice the actual tearing.  Yes it does hurt afterwards, but that is fixed with panadol and cold packs and a bit of care and then after a few weeks it dissipates.  The same with the caesar - if worse comes to worst, remember that you will get through this, it is only a short time and the result is soooo worth it!

Hiya!

With my son, I tore slightly but was cut also. I had a few stitches and yeah, it did hurt but a bit of panadol and it eased. With my daughter, i torn badly, 3rd degree and had soooo many stitches. This time tho, the pain wasn't as bad as my son. Use Funny faces iceblocks wrapped in a chux cloth and put it in ya knickers. The coldness stems the pain and helps heal it quicker. I swear by it. Oh, and get stuck into the fru-chocs, just incase u become constipated...u sooo dont want to be straining!!! oouch!! Funny how reading your question immediately makes me cross my legs...lol

Hi,With my first child the Dr said that he would not need to cut,but then on the next contraction he cut and I did not even realize.he was my biggest baby at 8lb 10oz they stitched me up and all was fine.My next one was smaller 7lb 11 oz and I didnt tear or no need to cut ,my last baby was 8lb3oz and I tore a little.My second delivery was a C section and she was 7lb 7oz.If you tear or need to be cut it is no drama and should heal fine maybe a little stinging when you go to the toilet that is all.

                                                         Cham

it will all depend on the size of your baby ,,

 if they have to cut you you will be given a  local anaesthetic its just a quick sting and also you will be given one also if you do tear, there will be soo much going on so you still might not even notice it ,, you might get  a buring sensation as the baby heads crowns if you tear ( more than likely it will be the last thing on your mind ) ,,,there will be preasure when the head comes out ,, thats just what we have to go through ,, at that stage they will tell you not to push as they will have to make sure the cords not arround babys neck so you will have to hang on and not push at all at that time,,they will instruct you when to push and when to stop ,, ( for me not to push with all that presure down there was the harest time as i just wanted it out ,

is you do have stitches they will sow you ( you will be given a local also ) and when i had my ones they taught me how to take care of the stiches ( saltwater washes and to blow dry it not to rubb it with the towel) not too sure if they are still doing it this way though .

for my last child i had a great doctor he took it slow with the crowning of the head so that i wouldnt tear , but with my other ones i did tear but it healed .

one thing my friends told me to take notice of was that when the baby comes out your tummy feels like it just plops so when i had my first child i was also trying to take notice of this lol , it took my mind of all sorts of things,,

all the best for you and your little bundle of love that will be joining you soon,, xxxx Debbie

 

hello i had a large tear but i didn't feel a thing until bout 5 or 6 hours later it started to sting a little but nothing panadol didn't fix as i had pethidine and the gas so i was out to it and as soon s the baby is in your rms you forget about everything i didn't think it5 was possible till i held my baby boy and all the pain was gone anyways hope this helps don't be scared you will do great.

I had three stitches, I tore.. Did not feel a thing (due to drugs or just the excitement of holding my baby)...
Trust me once your baby comes out if all went well you'll be to excited to worry about anything, I'll say that for me Once I was holding my son in my arms I almost forgot what the rest of the day was like.. :)

Good luck...

Current research says that episiotomies (where the obstetrician cuts you) are unnecessary and can be more dangerous than just tearing. You could have a talk to your doctor or midwife about what there policies are and how they feel about it to get an idea of where they stand on the issue. I found that I felt a lot calmer and safer going in to labour having an idea of how my medical attendants were likely to deal with situations.

Tearing is another issue.

There is a good chance you might have some grazing (or skid marks) or small tearing. Often this doesn't require stiches, and while it's a little uncomfortable, lots of kegel excercise will keep the blood flowing and it should all heal up relatively quickly.

You may have some larger tears that required stitches. Make sure (and be very, very firm) that you have enough local anaesthetic before they start stitching; you should feel NO pain and if you do, speak up. I had two stitches with my first, and once they deadened the area, it was weird, but fine. Going to the toilet and showering can be really daunting afterwards, but it's best to get both over and done with quickly; a water bottle with a squity nozzle can dilute urine so it stings less, or weeing in the shower can help. And ice packs in a maxi sanitary pad work wonders!!

You can significantly reduce you chances of tearing by adopting an upright position to push the baby out, like on your hands and knees, or flat footed squatting. It's a good idea to practise both of these now so it's more comfortable in labour. Avoiding pain medication and birthing in a tub of water helps, too.

Hope this helps.

I was cut (I think it's called an Episiotomy...spelling??)  They give you local anasthetic needles but your skin is at that point pulled Sooooo tight that they hurt, but the BIG ouch is afterwards.  I was cut from my fanny into my bum hole and it was a huge 1cm wide welt for near a month (at least...will look up how long exactly later).  It hurt to stand, it hurt to lay down and it hurt to sit.  I sat on a hemeroid ring when I sat....to breast feed etc.  I was scared to poo one of the disolvable stitches burst when I was on the loo once and it bleed heavily for about 5 minutes which was rather stressful.  I don't know if mine was a normal one though...they told me my next baby will have to be brought on at 38 weeks as I have a very narrow birth cannal,  as it was my daughter was only 6 pound 12 ounes, not big at all, she wore baby born dolls clothes her first 3 days, then we bought 00000 stuff.

  I plan to have a C-section next time at full term instead....if I have another one (Hubby's not keen).  At least you can sit down and go to the toilet with one of those.  A lot of women don't tear or need to be cut, pray you are one of those LOL.   I have also been told that tears repair faster than cuts, I guess natural is always the way to go even with rips and tears.  Sorry if this scares you, but it is best to be prepared, this all came as quite a shock to me when it happened and I had knocked back the offer of a c-section when it was obvious we were having trouble pushing her out, then it was just too late...............You do need to trust in your Doctor & mid wives, they are the ones knowing whats going on etc............The BIG thing is that after all of that I DO want to have another one.....There's no way they can tell if you are a candidate or not until the bubs head is forcing it's way through and so it can go either way.  I have a girlfriend who had her bub with absolutely no probs what so ever, not even a scratch...it was the story book Cinderella version of birth...the whole tears of joy wonderful bonding moment ending.  So it can go either way.  The whole thing is the great unknown even for your 2nd, 3rd etc.  but we all go back for more (well most of us LOL)....which proves one thing....in a year you will remember that it happened, but will have forgotten the pain......Natures little trick to keep us breeding.

I tore a little with my third but it was just a burning sensation I think not a huge worry and for a couple days can burn a bit on going to the toilet but I was one of these people that didn't even want to take the panadol forte after and the other after pains while breast feeding got quite strong but honestly it really isn't much to be concerned about on the scale of the whole labour. Good luck with the whole thing and when you have the baby in your arms it makes the labour all worthwhile. Lynette xx

I told them not to cut, as that seemed to be a question they were asking a lot.  "Do you want us to cut you before you tear?" Well to me it seemed like a dumb question, even more stupid after since I didn't tear.  Luckily I said don't cut me! Don't think it matters if it's your first or 5th baby whether or not you tear.  My cousin had 3 babies and only tore with her 2nd, and she was the smallest of them all.  Seems she was born with her fist clenched and held up to her shoulder when she came out and that's likely what caused it.  I'd rather tear then be cut anyday but others would disagree with that.

I had a c-section, but I asked my mom about this before I had mine, b/c I didn't know I would need a c-section. She told me (and so did other nurses) that it was better to be cut than to tear. So think about it and let your doctor know (it you don't want to tear) that you want him to cut. It is easier to stitch a cut than a tear, it is even. My mom said they give you a shot to numb the area, she didn't feel it. If you don't get cut you could tear, the doctor will be able to tell you right before you start pushing if you will tear or need to be cut, your choice.

Well,it can happen, bur when the time comes, IF it happens, you are hardly likely to even notice it or feel it, there are a lot of other things going on down there.  It is also very unlikely that you will have any long term effect from it if it does happen, they stitch you very nicely and you will be on antibiotics.  Remember it may not even happen, and there are far more important things to concentrate on at the time, so don't worry about it.

Some doctors do perform an episiotomy if the feel the need for it, whatever happens, it will be decided upon what is best for bubs at the time. 

Yep, been there done that with all three. I personally didn't feel it at the time. I was cut with the first, tore with the 2nd and was cut again for the 3rd. Bit tender after for a couple of days, but ice generally makes that feel better. That's about all I remember of it! Leisa