Perineal Tear

[karencmum]

I tore with dd, and was stitched. I tore again with ds, but midwife decided not to stitch. That was yesterday. I'm not bleeding and haven't looked at the wound, but it feels like it's quite a considerable tear, and the edges don't seem like they could come together without stitches.

Anyone with experience - will it come together by itself, or should I request that it be stitched when I next see midwife? It's not too late to stitch, is it?

they dont stitch after 24 hours generally because there's a risk they can introduce an infection.

i had an episiotomy 11 weeks ago and my stitches fell out. they didn't restitch. i had a 3 inch cut, and now theres just one cm left to join. your body will heal itself. BUT you need to look after the wound to promote the healing. don't wanna scare you, but this has caused me lots of problems. maybe because mine wasn't a natural tear.

you should have tea tree baths to avoid infection, and after a few days when the wound is less fresh you could try salt baths.

midwives swear by arnica to prmote healing.

you should keep it dry as possible and air dry as much as you can. if you can avoid wearing undies and a pad and just sit on an old towel with your legs open to air dry this will help.

also make sure you keep the area really clean. wash yourself with water every time you go to the loo.

finally, without becoming obsessive about it make sure you keep a fairly regular check on th wound. if there are any problems in the healing, the earlier you pick them up the better.

hope this helps and wishing you a speedy recovery.

Thanks. That has really helped.