Pain during intercourse, 7 months after birth! :(

[JadeCrusader]

Hi there,

We had a natural birth and my midwife told me I had a small tear and what she called "skid marks" in my vagina afterward. She seemed not worried and put a stitch in and said I was good. However, even 7 months after I gave birth I still experience pain during intercourse. Awhile back I was mostly concerned with the rough sandpaper feeling, but that has mostly subsided (although not fully). I assume that will eventually go away, but what is really plaguing me now is the fact that I tear and bleed still.

I wasn't surprised with the tearing and bleeding 6 weeks after I gave birth, but it has been 7 months now and still happening! I bled so badly this time that I stained the blanket we were on.

I keep thinking that maybe my midwife stitched me up wrong, or too tightly, and that now I have to tear back to where I am supposed to be and then heal again before I will be good, but you would think this would have happened by now.

This is really affecting our sex life. It isn't as fun for me and my husband feels really badly. Plus sometimes I don't want to wait a whole day to be intimate with him again, but I HAVE to wait at least 24 hours in between for the tear to heal up enough to not be horribly painful the whole time.

We have tried waiting it out (even as long as a month) and that didn't help, in fact I think it may have made it worse.

Help!

 

[hellohefalump]

My tear didn't heal either. I went to the doctors and they gave me anaesthetic cream. It turned out I had an ulcer. It eventually healed after two years.

I really think you should see your doctor, it doesn't sound the same as what I had, but they could help you and it's worth a shot

 

[JadeCrusader]

I guess I will have to . I am really anti-doctor, but there is a time and place for everything I suppose.

Has anyone else experienced what I am experiencing? I can't be the only one...

 

[Blue12]

I experienced this too. I even posted a thread on it somewhere. It took a long tome but it did finally just get better one day. It definitely interfears with a good sex life.

 

[xoxsarahxox]

I would Definatly see a doctor. I never tore during birth so I can't say I no what it feels like to have sex after.... I did however end up with a very nasty pain and slight bleeding after/ during inetercourse after I had given birth and this went on for around a year. It wasn't until I seem my doc who refered me to a gyno that they found part of my cervix hadnt returned to its normal place so that's what was causing me the pain and bleeding....Definatly worth a trip to the doc to make sure it is Definatly the tear and get it sorted. Hope you feel better soon x

 

[smawfl]

hi - just wondered if you got this sorted? Was the bleed from your tear?

 

[bigbloomerz]

It sounds like internal scarring. I had a tear/cut and forceps delivery and I was stitched up wrong. It meant I was tighter than I should have been and also had scarring internally that created something called granulation tissue. This made/makes sex even 4 years on very painful. I only managed to conceive this one thanks to two bottle of wine! lol.
If you can see you GP for a referral to a gynaecology doctor. I was offered a procedure called a Fentons procedure where they slice and restitch and remove the scarring/extra tissue that causes the pain but was told to wait until id finished having children to have it, yet some people have had it regardless. They also do something called silver nitrate treatment? but i'm not as clued up on that. The other thing I was given was a Dilator, these can help by gradually stretching the area back out again, also during sex do you use lubricant? lubricant is a must if you have a tear, also I found that some positions are more uncomfortable than others due to the pressure on the scarring so maybe trying different positions could also help with the tearing. hope you can get some relief from it, I've had the same thing for 4 years now and its still not "fixed" but there are small things to do to help it.

 

[seoj]

First off- massive hugs... I went through 14 mos (yes 14) of painful sex after my LO was born- and I had a C-section!!! The first 6mos were horrid- although it slowly got better- I saw my OB several times, but nothing was "wrong" that she could tell or test for- they thought I had infection, tooks meds, but nothing helped... I finally asked for a referral to a specialist.

It was just the skin (down below) because of pregnancy or hormones was thin/dry and causing me pain... and all I needed was estrogen cream! Go figure. But in that time, it really took a toll on me emotionally- and physically... I kept "pushing through" thinking it had to get better- and OH was understanding, but obviously didn't fully understand my feelings (as I felt guilty for feeling bad or not wanting sex)- we finally had to have a very open and honest conversation... and it still took time after things got better to reconnect in that way like we used to be. It's great now though!

Not that your issue is the same- just know your not the only one and I'd highly recommend seeking a specialist for help if you can. Or do some research and get a referral... my referral put me on a 6mos waiting list as the ONLY specialist in our area was over booked- so I was proactive and searched around my area myself till I found someone who worked a lot with woman experienceing painful sex and lucky me she was able to help after the first appt!!!

Best of luck hun- I know it sucks, so hopefully you can find the help you need sooner than later.