petrified of stitches

[pacific407]

I'm due to have my first baby in 5 weeks time and, although I am obviously apprehensive about labour, the thing that scares me most of all is the thought of having to be stitched up afterwards.

I have never had stitches in my life and they petrify me...and the thought of having to have them in a very sensitive area, well...

Some reassurance would be gratefully received...(no horror stories please, I realise it could be horrific but I'm really after anthing that can help me sleep at night for the next 5 weeks!)

So a couple of questions:

1. First baby = tearing?
2. Is there anything I can do?
3. If I tear badly and need extensive stitching, will I be offered (or can I request) pain relief and will it help?

thanks in advance everyone.

I've not given birth... yet! But this was a concern of mine too for a while (im mainly freaking out about the blood lol!) but my sister advised me to start using wheat germ oil 'down there'. She used it each night nearing the end of her pregnancy and said she didn't tear atall! I will deffo be using this, fingers crossed it works!
Good luck! :) xxx

Honestly, after giving birth you really wont be worrying about stitches!

There are things you can do to try to minimise the risk of tearing or episiotomy- massage may work for you, and avoiding an epidural so that you are in control when pushing.

I had gas and air while being stitched. At one point the canister ran out; I sucked in hard and nothing happened, just at the same moment that a stitch was going in, and guess what? I just giggled and said 'ow'. Not saying this to freak you out, just to illustrate how completely unbothered you will probably be by having stitches once you've just pushed your baby out.