episiotomy...eeeek!!

[pudge05]

I am only 4 weeks along and have a looooong ways ahead but I am already dreading the recovery from labor lol. this is baby #3. i had 2 vaginal deliveries and ended up having an episiotomy with both. my goal is to avoid being cut this time!! has anyone had an episiotomy with one delivery and not the next? what are some things, other than kegels, that can help me avoid this?

 

[jlw617]

I had one with my first but not my second, I know as a general rule of thumb your chance of having one in subsequent deliveries go down so maybe you won't have to have one this time, I've never heard of keels helping but I have heard of starting to do perineal massages in the weeks leading up to your labor.

 

[mommyB]

I had one with my second. But then again he was 10.5lbs. Recovery was easy for me, because it think it was very small.

 

[NDH]

Episiotomies can always be avoided by having a Dr who doesn't perform them and/or asking not to have one done. Tearing can't always be avoided (though happens less often when free to move into various positions of your showing to push and not having coached pushing) but healing from tears is much easier than healing from an episiotomy generally.

 

[2have4kids]

I believe getting a midwife or doctor who doesn't believe in eprpisiotomies is the key. There still are some old school doctors around who ask you to have an enema, shave the Nether-regions and love to perform the dreaded episiotomy. No thanks! Sure maybe some don't do the full enema and shaving but it's the same with cesareans, some doctors have VERY high rates of these, know what your getting into before you get into labour.

 

[george83]

I had one with my first but not my second, I did year with him though. I have to say as painful as my recovery from the episiotomy was it was nothing compared to the pain from recovering from tearing. I was in tears night after night as the pain was so bad, I even convinced myself I had an infection but I didn't. I'm hoping this time baby just pops out!!

 

[paintrider89]

I had one with DD (forceps delivered) and I didn't think the healing process was bad at all, some witch hazel now and then the first two days and I was good to go.

 

[Helena88]

I had an episiotomy due to a big bubba whose shoulder was stuck and I really didn't think it was a bad thing (they gave me a local before cutting me so I didn't feel a thing) and it healed quickly with minimal scarring. I think I would prefer an episiotomy over tearing. The odds of you needing an episiotomy are supposed to go down once you've already had one. Perineal massage is supposed to help with preventing tearing and the need for an episiotomy - definitely worth looking into!

 

[icegurl470]

I was terrified of tearing and was told to message my perineum with vitamin e oil, lol weird I know. Not sure if it helped or not. I had some small labial tears, one requiring one stitch, but I didn't suffer a perineum tear, so it may have helped. Worth a try.