Third degree tear - when will it heal?

[nausicaa35]

Is there anyone out there who also had a third degree tear? I’m really interested to find it how long it took you to heal. My baby came out sucking his thumb and I ended up in theatre to be repaired. My tear is a 3c degree tear. This only happened two weeks ago so I realise I have a long road ahead but it just looks such a mess down there (I probably shouldn’t have looked). My perineum is split open to the point it looks like I have another hole underneath my vagina and as the stitches have nearly all dissolved there’s nothing holding it together. My midwife says this is normal and that the perineum will fuse back together but I just don’t see how this is possible, and if it is then surely it will take years!! So, I know I’m in for a long recovery - but how long can I expect it to take?

[MrTumbleTumble]

I had a fourth degree tear 18 months ago. I had a check up 3 months after birth and they said everything was completely healed. I didn't look until about 3-4 weeks post birth and by that point there was just a pink scar line down my perineum - no holes, no stitches etc. I'm not quite the same as I was before, I still have some internal scar tissue and everything looks and feels slightly different but I am healed and I am ok. The internet has a lot of horror stories!

Take it as easy as you can, not too much walking / sitting on hard chairs, and if you're still not happy maybe see your GP in a few days?

Oh - and dont forget to keep doing your pelvic floor exercises in 3 positions (sitting, standing and lying down). It'll help prevent any incontinence further down the line, which was the thing for me that took longest to go back to normal.

[nausicaa35]

Thanks for your reply, and to anyone reading in the same boat I would like to provide an update. 13 weeks on and I am nearly completely healed. I couldn’t see how the perinium would heal itself in those early days but it has. The body is remarkable!

[namynom]

Glad it's healed up nicely, you're braver than me, I never looked! I didn't even feel it properly til about 2 weeks later I was just too petrified but you're right, the human body is amazing. I'm 3 years down the line now after 3rd degree tear and it's like nothing ever happened. Perineum feels a bit thicker than it was maybe but I'm so used to it I hardly notice.