How come some women don't tear in childbirth?

[faithfulbird20]

Is it because of the size of the child? The way they push? Massage? I tore both times...but a friend of mine told me she was quite lucky she didn't tear at all...

I’ve had 3 no tearing births (all inductions) after my first DS the midwife told me when I asked if I’d torn or any damage that I hadn’t but it was to do with how I’d pushed which is why they say to push at certain points and not at others even if you feel like you need to. No idea really how true it is but makes sense I guess!
My babies were all 7.12lbs (weirdly) and 2 were back to back

I wonder. My mum didn’t get any stretch marks & she didn’t tear, 3 kids. I have 3 kids, stretch marks & tears. I wonder if there is something about skin elasticity?? FWIW I was younger than my mum when I had kids so it’s not age!

I didn't tear 3rd time, I think it was a combination of lots of perineal massage and not physically pushing but just letting the contractions push her out.

Vodkabulary my 3 kids were all 8lb 13oz, weird!

Luck.

Combination of size of child, size of mother, presentation of baby, length of labour, whether intervention is required, speed of birth I would imagine.

FWIW I tore quite badly the first time, having already had an episiotomy and ventouse delivery. Second time a slight graze, no stitches with a bigger baby.

I tore both times, 2 fast births (4h and 1.45h) with 2 big headed babies.

No stretch marks though.

I didn’t tear but I’d had an epidural and didn’t really have an overwhelming urge to push, so was able to just follow the midwife’s instructions of when to push and when not to, and it was quite calm and slow. Can imagine it’s totally different without! Baby was 8lb8. I’d done a bit of massage before induction but no idea if that made any difference.

My first I didn’t tear but I had a really hands on midwife that kept telling me to stop pushing at certain points, to be honest I didn’t do any forced pushing for that baby, my body just did it all. My second there were some concerns so was a bit more rushed and I was told to push and I had a small tear, but my body had done most the work at that point. All was ok in the end with the 2nd and it was marginal if I needed stitches, they left it to me to decide whether to have them or not

I have fuckloads of stretch marks though, even before pregnancy!

I think it's sheer luck to be honest! My first was breech but tiny at a little over 5lbs. I hadn't realised I was in labor till she was almost out. My second was a super speedy delivery and was almost 9lbs. I didn't tear with either.

Luck, genetics, speed of delivery, size of baby, so many reasons!

I think if you knew the answer to this you could make a fortune selling it to antenatal women!

I had only a minor tear the first time despite DS1 being born with his arm around his neck which my antenatal teacher was shocked by because she said that normally leads to a bad tear. She reckoned I'd softened up my perineum by spending time in water.

Didn't tear the second time.

Neither baby was big.

Lots of things influence tearing - inductions / fast labours, position of the baby (back to back is painful and will result in a tear), forceps, connective tissue disease, long second stage labours, babies over 4kg etc etc.

On top of this some groups of people are much more genetically predisposed to tearing than others. For example Asian, Indian and Pakistani women are more likely to tear while black women are least likely to.

I think it is down to a combination of factors.. elasticity of the tissues, the amount of time your body has to adapt to the baby coming out, the size of the baby's head, the position of the baby as it comes out, the intensity of the contractions, the intensity of the pushing, birthing position, the exact mix of hormones that stimulate blood flow and relax the muscles, tendons and ligaments.

My first was only 6lb 10oz but I tore really quite badly, think it was because he had his hand over his face when he came out. I was really worried about it opening up the next time I gave birth 2.5 years later but it didn’t, I just had a tiny tear the second time. My second was bigger at 7lb 7oz but no hand over face and also born in the bag, don’t know if that helped at all.

Slow, calm labour, size of baby, genetics of mum, whether it's a first baby or not.

I had a 50 percentile baby with a 97 percentile head so he got stuck and needed forceps - no theatre available for csection and anyway by then it was too late.

Sometimes I think it's just unavoidable.

I think it depends on the skill and patience of the midwife.

But not always obviously.

There has to be a link to the size of the child I think. I didn’t tear but my babies were both 7lb something and I carried small. I think their heads were just little.

I didn’t tear.. but they cut me instead 🙈😬 both babies were in distress so needed to come out quickly.
Both were under 6lb and had small heads.....

No stretch marks though....

@justanotherneighinparadise I’m not sure that works in my case!

First DC - induction, awful birth ending in a ventouse and 7lb 3 baby
Second DC - unassisted birth - 9lb 13 baby
Third DC - unassisted birth - 10lb 3 baby

Second and third DCs had such massive heads that DH had to do an emergency hat buying run to get a bigger size.

No tears with any of them 🤷‍♀️ I didn’t do perineal massage or anything special, though was in slow labour for a week with DCs 2 and 3, which may have helped loosen things up, so to speak!

I had no stretch marks and no tears. 8lb 3 (4 hours) and 8lb 15 (50mins). Different labours, one in pool, one out. I think I did perineal massage with DC1 but not with regularity, and certainly not for DC2. I can only think I have great skin elasticity, which is genetics.

I think it's more likely to happen first time around. I tore the first time but he had both hands up in front of his face so was wider. They were going to do an episiotomy soon anyway.

Second time around baby was a pound heavier and no tearing after a very quick birth. Wanted to push baby out earlier but I was still in the car so maybe holding on as long as possible made a difference.

I tore with both babies and they were small (6 lbs and 5 lbs) with tiny heads! I think it depends on a variety of factors but for me the skin forming the vaginal entrance is fairly narrow. I have to keep my mooncup folded into quarters to get it out. On the odd occasion it has popped open it causes a really painful stretch and I can't get it through, the opening is just not wide enough. My vagina itself expands fine, it is just the entrance that is the issue.

In Sweden they use something called the Finnish grip which is when the midwife uses warm compresses to push against the perineum when you're giving birth. Their tearing rates are much lower than here from what I recall.