To think that maybe having an episiotomy may actually be preferable to being streeeeeeeeeetched beyond all recognition

[CurryMaid]

I had a pretty traumatic forceps delivery of a large, stuck baby with complimentary episiotomy.

I always thought the episiotomy was truly the work of the devil - it made me feel hideously violated.

However, reading another thread has made me think that perhaps it prevented all kinds of other fanjo damage, and that them doing it that way might actually be preferable to having your bits stretched out of all proportion.

I have to say that my pelvic floor remains pretty intact and I'm not sure if the episiotomy may actually have helped with this.

I had a 3rd degree tear with my ds' birth & i healed really quickly,no problems whatsoever.In fact my mw told me your body heals quicker when you tear naturally as opposed to an episiotomy.Not sure how true that is as i have nothing to compare it to.

I had two epis as had two ventouse deliveries.
Both very clean cuts/scars and no problems (aside from the wincingly awful first few days afterwards).
My Mother had a slight tear that they never stitched after my Brother and has always (admitted to me after much wine) felt very embarrassed about how she looks down there.

I'm not keen on my episiotomy scar and I'm very conscious of it. But the huge advantage is you get a local anaesthetic down there, so

1. you don't feel the ring of fire as you give birth, and
2. you're well doped up for the stitches The thought of having a local for stitches after a tear without being mid-contraction brings tears to my eyes!

I had an episiotomy which was subsequently extended half an hour later as DS was not coming out.

You have a local before an epi?

Really? Is that standard?

Fuckers

I didn't get mine til I begged for it when they did the stitches.

I had an episiotomy and I still tore! It took the midwife an hour and a half to embroider my bits! The stitches were more painful than labour - the pain certainly lasted longer. So I don't know if yabu or if yanbu!

Ebb I had a 2nd degree tear too! But I still think my pelvic floor would have been shot to bits without the epi.

You get local if there's time.

tbh - I've had three episiotomys and it doesn't bother me at all but I know that is just my experience. Anything is preferable to your bottom exploding - but an episiotomy doesn't gurantee you'll avoid that anything more than anything else can.

My midwife admired the stitching on my episiotomy. It was done by a registrar .

I had a spinal with DS1 (they were prepping me for a Em C/S then realised a ventouse would do the job) and an injection with DS2 (only for the stitches though, not the cutting bit) which failed miserably, but I did have hold of the gas and air and that helped admirably.

I didn't have a birth plan as I was happy to go with the flow but the one thing I really feared was having an episiotomy.

Needless to say that after pushing for over 2 hours I ended up having one. It seemed to take an age to heal and I can still sometimes feel the odd twinge where the scar is. But on the otherhand ds was born about 2 pushes after it was done so on the whole I don't regret it.

Can I just ask, does anyone else's epi scare ache when they are on their period, or is that just me?

Oh there was plenty of time for me to have a local. The episiotomy was the only way DS was coming out and it took nearly an hour after the first cut (and that was after 2 1/2 hours of pushing already).

I thought everyone got a local. I guess that blows my theory out of the water then. I'd opt for stretching in that case.

Depends on the outcome

i.e. future fanjo functionality

Yes CurryMaid, my scar aches at that time of the month. And it was bloody painful for a good few weeks after the birth. Jugs of warm water by the loo anyone?

sorry you had a traumatic time. I would have thought it was the tearing rather than stretching per se that would be a problem. I had a local before epi and ventouse. My scar ached for a year/eighteen months when on my period etc.

bella - yeah I had mws tell me what a beautifully neat job had been done, for some reason I had a surgeon do the stitching (only know that as I recognised her come up and debrief a lady after her section).

Oh yes, jugs of water and jumping off the sofa whilst BF'ing.

Mine is fine now and has been for ages.
DH said (he'd made the mistake of looking down there) that he couldn't see how they'd ever put me back together again . DS2 was a big baby so it was a big cut.

I had an episiotomy with DS2 - forceps delivery.

At the time I felt violated and took at least 6 months for the throbbing pain to go. My fanjo is fine now (thank you for asking) and after reading other horror stories on MN I count my lucky stars.

I had no idea an episiotomy would prevent the stretching (and my, it's pretty bad) of the surrounding skin and sagging of pelvic (now basement). I only have one LO but was in 2nd stage for about 6 hours and had suction cup delivery. Why don't they tell you these things FFS. I would have had an epi if I'd known.

Do you know what I wish I'd been told at antenatal classes?

That they do it with bloody scissors. For some reason that made it feel so much more barbaric to me - one minute I was watching the consultant tug on the end of the ventouse with the most enormous pair of scissors I had ever seen and the next minute she was taking out the forceps and coming towards me with those gigantic silver scissors.

For some reason, I thought that if they were going to do that, I would know/feel/see them do it, IYSWIM.

I would not feel/see them do it.

CurryMaid I agree that is a grim moment. I am eternally grateful that after 24 hours I was past the point of caring!

The only time my scar hurts is when we attempt sex