Post birth trauma, severe damage to rectal area

[Uptheapplesandpearstobed]

Good evening, name changed due to a rather personal nature.

I had an extremely traumatic birth, baby crowned but was stuck and needed an emergency CS pushing baby back up the birth canal. Despite only birthing babies head, I tore from front to back requiring repair in theatre.

Due to the dire agony and post CS constipation, I lost the sensation to go as such and found myself having to manually disimpact. Since this, I have relied on disimpaction on a daily basis as nothing can come out without the help of myself.

Recently, I ended up in emergency surgery for a large impaction that had to be removed under general anaesthetic.

Baby is 8 months old, would I be unreasonable to pursue compensation for this awful and life changing damage, it effects everything and I feel utterly depressed that at not even 30 I have lost the normal ability to use the bathroom. Thank you.

very sorry to hear of this OP.

You need to seek specialist legal advice as to whether you have a case against the hospital. Unfortunately no one here can say whether you meet any of the strict legal tests involved.

I had a significant anal tear after the birth of our second child and it was incredibly painful, I can only imagine the pain you are in.

Are you in a position to see someone privately? Even if it's just to understand where you stand in terms of treatment?

When our first child was born he had a medical condition that the NHS didn't take seriously, so we went private, and our doctor was so outraged by the fact he hadn't been treated by the NHS for his condition that he contacted GOSH directly (he'd been a clinical lead for years before moving to private practice) and insisted our child was seen.

You never know, you could end up with a kind and helpful doctor, like we did. Good luck OP

My god op I am so sorry.

Please see if you can be referred to a womens health physio, they maybe able to help you regain control

@Uptheapplesandpearstobed

My lovely it will get better.

My injuries decades ago were similar and I suffered in silence for 7 years before seeking help. That was a big mistake looking back.

After 6-12 months after birth the nerves to my bowel started signalling again but badly. By that time my bowel had stretched and sensation was lost.

I was given a pelvitone machine that can have two insertions, one front and one back which maintains muscle tone. If you've had this much damage it's really important to use this.

What I find helps is a small bulb water enema. I clean with this twice a day and it's super quick and easy to carry if needed. This with splinting pressure to the perineum is enough.

Have you been seen by the colorectal nurse at the hospital? That would be my very first call via your GP. Get advice from them before considering seeing a consultant. It was here I found out about the pelvitone machine and the bulb enema and both have made this manageable.

Your injuries are still fairly new and if managed correctly your outcome may be much better than mine.

Mine is fully manageable now. Sensation has returned enough to function. It took a long time but it's ok now.

Wishing you all the best. Sadly this isn't as uncommon as we think.

I’m so sorry this has happened to you OP. It really does sound horrific. I totally understand why you would feel so angry and helpless.

I’m struggling to understand which aspect of your care was directly to blame for this outcome. Do you feel that you should have been offered the cesarean sooner? Was there any indication that this was required?

My niece had a dreadful tear due to her baby being so large. She lost sensation in anus too. Midwife knew it was large baby from scan. I know she told me it took her almost a year before she could go out far from house. Due to injury she could only poo at home and it took her ages and a lot of pain. She also had stool softeners and drank a lot of fresh juice to avoid constipation. After about 10 months she said it started to heal and by making sure she remained loose in her stools no straining. By a year she said it was much better. She wanted another child and waited a further 18 months then had a planned c section. Try to keep positive you only have a few more months to get through. I hope you heal and if you need surgery they do an amazing job for you.

This sounds horrendous. I imagine you could be entitled to compensation although I believe it is a long old road to get to this point so would not help you immediately. I think it comes down to if clinical negligence occurred which caused the original injury or if it is occurred in the subsequent treatment of said injury. Worth looking into in any case.

I feel for you. I have to regularly do this due to IBS and it’s degrading

I’d go to PALS and see what they say. You can’t continue the way you are

www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-10080407/Wirral-mother-tried-kill-doctor-laughed-birth-injuries.html

OP, absolutely not unreasonable if your injury was caused by medical negligence. No one on here can tell whether that is the case. I’d suggest calling Irwin Mitchell, a law firm with a team specialising in birth injury due to medical negligence. They will be able to talk to you about the process and how you can go about establishing whether there was negligence.

I’m very sorry that this has happened to you.

www.clarkewillmott.com/blog/damages-awarded-to-mother-following-obstetric-anal-sphincter-injury-oasi/

If the injury was due in part to negligence by the hospital then yes I think you should pursue compensation. You probably do have actual losses so far and regardless of monetary losses, you are legally entitled to compensation for the emotional distress and harm (if there was negligence). My mother had a similar issue, not due to childbirth, but when a medical procedure went wrong and she ended up with a colostomy bag as a result. She successfully got a large payout of compensation using a no win no fee firm (a reputable one - I am a solicitor myself, at a different firm and not in the same field of work, and I was pretty impressed at how they handled things). Rightly so as it impacts her life massively and has caused her additional cost and loss of earnings. The hospital also needs to learn what went wrong and take steps to prevent it - I just don't think they take things seriously without a legal claim unfortunately. I can send you the firm's name via PM if that would be helpful.

that sounds horrendous, I have never heard of a CS after the head is partially born - how traumatising. I hope you get the treatment you need.

This, but seek a referral to a colorectal consultant to see if the damage can be rectified.

www.all4maternity.com/the-uk-oasi-care-bundle-the-results-are-out-but-so-is-the-jury/

Jesus fucking christ op, you poor thing. Have you accessed any support for the trauma? I have no advice really but I would say compensation is worth looking into. Have you had a birth debrief to discuss what happened? It could give you some more answers regarding what went wrong.

www.aims.org.uk/journal/item/oasi-perineal-trauma-report

@Uptheapplesandpearstobed How are things now?

Dear me, childbirth can be brutal and I can't imagine how it is to cope with these issues on a daily basis and look after a baby.
Best wishes to you.

@Uptheapplesandpearstobed Its way past the 12 month mark now. Have you had the surgery? What else have they done to help.

This sounds so traumatic for you. Oleasr find yourself a private pelvic health womens physiotherapist to help you regain strength in the muscles. Im sure it can help a lot.