Minimising birth damage

[Velvetee]

I'm watching Dr90210 and a there is a woman having labia surgery. Having had 2 children, her last one caused tearing in three places, so since then she has suffered lots of discomfort and cannot really have sex.

Is there any way to minimise damage to the vagina and surrounding areas during childbirth? Will my midwife give tips on how to have a smoother birth?

[onlyme26]

Hi velvetee, i hope u accept my apology after your last post :o(

i had an 18 hr labour with my first, Ouch!!! LUCKERLY there was no damage but everyone is going to be differnt, im suprised they let me go on so long to be honest, tho i was litterally minutes away from a C section,

if your worried i would talk thing through with your midwife,

i dont think there is any way to "train" yourself to have an easier labour tho god i wish there was!!!

some people have it easy some have it hard, there really is no way of telling :o(


xx

[annie0000]

I have heard that rasberry leaf tea helps. I had two sections though, so cant really comment about the after effects of a normal birth.

[redcrx]

Raspberry leaf tea helps tone the uterus so this will help the effectiveness of your pushing but the tearing seems to be the (un) luck of the draw Im afraid. It will mainly depend on the presentation of the babys head.

There are those who recommend allowing midwife to cut you if they feel it necessary and others who say tear naturally for better healing time afterwards.

Ensure that when you do start to push that you follow what the midwife is saying to you and stop pushing and pant when babys head is out to ensure delivery is not forced.

[natalie_1982]

I was cut as opposed to tearing, and although it is still sometimes tender it has healed well. My friend's labour was so fast that she tore from front to back and it took a long time to heal. I think it all depends on your skin type, the length of labour and how baby is positioned.

However, I have a friend who insists that you should "rub wheatgerm oil on your noo-nah to prevent tearing. So there you go, you heard it hear first folks.

Also, although I never did this, I remember reading in a pregnancy book that in the last few weeks of pregnancy you can.... aherm.... stretch yourself down there by inserting your finger(s), maybe when in the bath or something, probably not a good one to try when at the bus stop and it can help to stretch / prepare your vaginal opening for the birth.

I took raspberry leaf tea at the end of my pregnancy and although I have nothing to compare it to (first baby), I can't say that it helps that much, although God knows what it would have been like without it LOL

Lastly - am I being dim - how on earth did she manage to tear hear labia during childbirth?

[redcrx]

i suppose it depends which way the tear goes nat. 3 degree tears are the worst, which are internal and need a lot of stitching. My neighbours baby was born doing a superman impression and did some serious damage to mums lady bits

velvet, nat was talking about perineal massage. heres a link if youd like http://www.treehuggermums.co.uk/articles/pregn ancy/article.php?article=20

[MiniN]

yeah, i'm with natalie, how did her labia tear?

[natalie_1982]

I get that bit - I have a friend who had 3rd degree tears, I know someone else who tore front to back. I have never heard of anyone tearing their labia. Maybe my bits are laid out differently, I just cannot envisage how that could occur. I will have a look online later, I'm at work at the moment and it's not the sort of thing you want to google from your desk ;-)

[Velvetee]

Oooh I'm scared!

[Ice.Maiden]

Don't be scared Velvetee. It's also a very exciting thing.
Rasberry leaf tea DOES help, and reduces much of the pain.
Breathing exercises are sensible to try and follow, but my old irish midwife gave me a tip for when it actually camt to the pushing part. She told me to try and push down towards my bottom - as you'd do when going to the loo. Sorry to sound a bit crude there, but it works, and should prevent tearing.

[Velvetee]

Bet I won't be able to do it. if it's all so natural, you'd think it would be painless. It's so hard being a woman.

[terambulan]

Ante-natal clinics will test and tell you all you need to know, and prepare you with exercises and relaxation/sleep regimes.

[Ice.Maiden]

You'll be fine hun. Go in thinking - well, there's no going back now - and just get on with it. You're offered all sorts of pain relief if you want it, and not all birth stories asre horrendous. i actually anjoyed mine, and I had two natural births with no more pain than a bad period might cause. This is the truth V, and although i know i was lucky, there's no reason why you shouldn't be the same. Take raspberry leaf tea from about 7 months, and i assure you it worked for me and my friends.