Perenial Massage

[ItsMeYourCathy]

Good morning everyone!
I read (can't remember where) about massaging some sort of oil into your perenium to prepare for the birth.
Is this quite a common thing to do?
Will it make any difference?
What oil do you use?
When should you start doing it?

I'm 28 wks pg and starting to totally FREAK OUT about the birth now, as you may have noticed.....

[WiiUnfit]

Hi ItsMeYourCathy, I'm in the same boat in some respects, I'm 15+6 & don't know when I should start using oil down there, I'm already using stretch mark oil on stomach, hips, waist, thighs & boobs so it would easily fit with that routine I just don't know if to start yet lol!

I know you can get special perenium oil to massage into your perenium (try Mothercare?)

It is believed to prevent / reduce tearing & the need for stitches as it encourages elasticity in that area.

Hope this helps & looking forward to hearing advice on when to start!

[NeedToSleepZZZ]

Hmph, I did it once and got thrush for the first time ever in my life! Am now 35 weeks and need to do it again. I just used olive oil. I read as well that oiling your 'bits' during the second stage can help baby out.

Good luck, my OH did mine and we couldn't stop laughing

[gastrognome]

I gave it a go during my first pregnancy and found it awkward to the point of being virtually impossible, and a bit painful. So decided not to bother - also occurred to me that I didn't want to stretch things more than absolutely necessary! Ended up with an episiotomy anyway (turns out they're practiced as standard here in Belgium).

This time round (2nd pregnancy) I'm not even going to bother trying!

[gastrognome]

Oh, should mention I used sweet almond oil (which is great to use on baby's skin too so it wasn't wasted!)

[NoseyNooNoo]

You can use normal olive oil - although I'd recommend a seperate bottle from the one in the kitchen!

Start doing is from 32-34 weeks. Insert your thumb or finger about 1-2 inches. Press downwards on the area between you bum and vagina. Run the oil into the inner edge of the perineum and lower vaginal wall making a U shape.

It will be uncomfortable at first but it will loosen up over time. Do it everyday for 5 mins.

It will help avoid an episiotomy because it increases elasticity and softens the perineum. It will also make the whole birth process more comfortable.

Good luck.

[daisystone]

I was all prepared. I had been on the Victoria Health website and had bought a bottle of their Perenial Massage oil and was all set to start at 32 weeks.

32 weeks rocked around and I got my oil out and sat down to do it and I couldn't bloody well reach my perineum! I literally couldn't get my hand up and over my massive bump and down far enough between my legs to do it.

So the oil is still sitting on my dressing table gathering dust. Best intentions....

I ended up having an episiotomy due to the fact it was a forceps birth so the oil wouldn't have helped me anyway. Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

[lilly13]

my pregnancy book says you need sweet almond oil. it is sold at many organic pharmacies and is quite cheap. you can also use this device www.epi-no.co.uk

• one woman recommended it on one of threads - haven't tried it myself but will once i get to 36 weeks....

[CupcakesHay]

Hello

i've started doing this - i got the one from motehrcare, but midwife said you can get anything. Anyhow, apparently it will make a difference - it's more the massaging than the oil. but you need to do it for 5 mins, twice aq day. And yes, finding it bloody awkward, but i'm 37 weeks pregnant. Wish i'd started it sooner - but I've been pretty ill with flu, so didn't have energy til now.

if you are worried about how to do it exactly, look on You Tube and there's a video with a woman with a kind of plastic model which shows you how to do it - oh and you can get DP/Dh to help....

[NoseyNooNoo]

If you can't do it yourself ask your partner to do it for you. It will be a giggle! And you really can just use cheap olive oil. No need to spend more money.

[KirstyAllsoap]

I did this from around 35 weeks, everyday with olive oil. I could feel it was making a difference, but I'm afraid when I actually had my baby she pretty much flew out and I ended up with a third degree tear,

BUT I'm glad I did it and maybe without it I'd have had a 4th degree. And my stitches healed like a dream and I can't imagine the massage before hand did anything other than help as it would have encouraged blood flow and elasticity in the area.

[woopsidaisy]

I did this from about 5/6 weeks with both DS! A friend had said that her midwife had recommended it after she tore badly with first.
I did it everyday,whenever I went to the loo. Left a bottle of Body Shop Vitamim E oil on top of the loo. After a while I was peeing about 20 times a day-as you do-so did it morning and night.
DS1 was 9lbs 7oz. No tears or stitches! Midwife who delivered him popped in to see me the next day and asked if I had done perineal massage. I said yes,how did you know?
She said first baby,9lbs 7oz,no stitches,must be perineal massage! .
DS2 was 10lbs 11oz,again no stitches.
Obviously lots of people have big babies and no stitches without the massage. But my feelings were it is a little thing to do each day,and if that means no stitches it is worth it. I had a big fear of stitches!

[lilly13]

woopsi, i thought it was not recommended to do the massage until 34 weeks. were you really okay from 5-6 weeks onwards?

[woopsidaisy]

I hadn't googled it or anything,just heard about it and thought "right I'm doing that!" .
I didn't realise you shouldn't do it that early! I wonder why it is not recommended? Not likely to make the bub slip out !